The comments, by Archbishop Paul Gallagher, have come as the reigning pope, Francis, makes final preparations for the unusual event of a pontiff presiding at the funeral of his predecessor.
After Thursday's burial of former pope Benedict XVI, there will be just one man wearing white in the corridors of the Vatican for the first time in nearly a decade.
It is rare for a senior Vatican figure to have spoken frankly about the relationship between the two popes.
