Vatican communications chief quits over 'lettergate' row

The Vatican's communications chief resigned today amid a controversy over the alleged manipulation of a letter written by retired pope Benedict XVI about his successor Pope Francis.

Monsignor Dario Vigano -- who has carried out sweeping reforms of the Vatican's media operations -- stepped down over the row that has become known as "lettergate".

The 55-year-old was accused of manipulating a private letter by Benedict XVI to help publicise part of the celebrations marking Francis' five years as pope.

At a presentation on March 12 of a collection of books on Francis' theology, Vigano read a letter from Benedict XVI praising the "deep philosophical and theological training" of his successor.

While Benedict XVI's tenure as pope was perceived to be more doctrine-focussed, Francis' more pastoral approach has riled some of the more conservative factions within the Catholic Church.

Nevertheless, in his letter, Benedict hit out at what he saw as the "foolish prejudice" of those who suggested that Francis was "a practical man without any particular theological or philosophical education."