Archbishop Georg Gänswein / Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.Rome Newsroom, Jun 15, 2023 / 04:31 am (CNA).The Vatican confirmed Thursday that Pope Francis has asked Archbishop Georg Gänswein to return to Germany as of July 1.The longtime private secretary of Pope Benedict XVI has been told to return to his home diocese of Freiburg in southwest Germany "for the time being," according to a brief statement June 15.The Vatican also said Gänswein's role as prefect of the Papal Household concluded on Feb. 28. It did not indicate that he had been given any new assignment.The news about the 66-year-old Gänswein was first reported by a German newspaper in early June.According to CNA Deutsch, CNA's German-language partner agency, the Welt newspaper reported that Pope Francis had informed Gänswein of his decision during a private audience on May 19. The future role of the late Benedict's secretary has been the subject of rumor and gossip across Rome and the Church in Germany for months. Previous specula...