Well there has been a lot of speculation that Benedict was forced out by reformers. Francis is nothing if not a reformer. His job is to usher in the gay stuff and communion for the divorced and civilly remarried. I personally am unsure of exactly how it all transpired. The Vatican is known for intrigue.
I read that it was blackmail about pedophilia and gay priests.
Kind of a backward reformer. Are they hoping to garner more membership thereby? Not that this kind of thinking is only Roman Catholic... never fear, Protestants have megachurches too, and some sell out so bad that you can hardly tell the difference between Christian and “nice.”