EXCLUSIVE: Vatican court confirms ongoing investigation into validity of Pope Benedict’s resignation - LifeSite EXCLUSIVE: Vatican court confirms ongoing investigation into validity of... This is the first time the Vatican’s criminal investigative office has put in writing that multi-year claims have triggered an active investigation file on the validity of Benedict’s renunciation. John-Henry Westen 9 Tue Apr 14, 2026 - 12:07 pm EDT Listen to this article 7 min VATICAN CITY ( LifeSiteNews ) — In what is the first official Vatican acknowledgment of an active investigation into the legitimacy of Pope Benedict XVI’s 2013 resignation, the Office of the Promoter of Justice of the Vatican City State has formally confirmed that it is actively carrying out an investigation into a petition to the court alleging the nullity of the resignation. The Office is the body responsible for conducting criminal investigations for the Tribunal of the Vatican City State (commonly referred to by journalist A...