Pope Francis writes that “I have often wondered whether this pope should not be considered a martyr,” in his preface to a new book on Pope Paul VI.
The Pope explained that during in the turmoil and “spiritual tension” that occurred after Vatican II, Paul VI told Vatican officials: “This is our crown of thorns.”
The suggestion came in the preface that Pope Francis contributed to a book entitled Paul VI: Doctor of the Mystery of Christ. The book is a collection of homilies given by of the Mystery of Christ” which collects the homilies that Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, on the anniversaries of the death of Pope Paul VI.