> He was not honest with us. Good person. Good pope, but he lied. <
I think you’re right. Benedict fell on his sword for some reason. Perhaps he did it to protect the overall reputation of the Church. I suppose we’ll never know.
perhaps at his death the truth will come out, tarnished by his refusal to bring it to light when it happened perhaps, but the possibility of him being afraid for HIS OWN safety is not likely.