Pope Francis Reveals that he was "used" during the Conclave to Try to Prevent Benedict XVI's Election - in New Book

"They tried to use me so that Ratzinger would not be elected Pope" ABC exclusively publishes an excerpt from the book 'The Successor' written by Pope Francis in collaboration with their Vatican correspondent, Javier Martínez-Brocal This is how they tried to block the election of Pope Benedict in the 2005 conclave. In the book 'The Successor', of which ABC publishes a world-exclusive extract, Francis explains the reasons that led him to stop a "maneuver" to block the candidacy of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and Francis confirms that he himself voted for Ratzinger.

Speaking of the conclave that he took part in as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires and which elected his predecessor, Francis said he was "used" by other cardinals trying to block Cardinal Ratzinger's election to the papacy. He was reported to have come out second on the final ballot. Pope Francis explained that a group of cardinals conceived of a "full-fledged maneuver" by putting forward his name "to block Ratzinger's election and then negotiate for a different, third candidate." He said he had received 40 of the 115 votes from among the cardinal-electors in the Sistine Chapel — "enough to stop the candidacy of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, because if they would have kept voting for me he would not have been able to reach the two-thirds needed to be elected pope." "They still did not agree on who, but they were on the verge of throwing out a name," he said. After learning of the strategy following the second or third ballot cast in the April 18-19 conclave, Pope Francis said he told Colombian Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos to not "joke with my candidacy" and that he would not accept being pope if he were elected. 

Universi Dominici Gregis, an apostolic constitution concerning papal conclaves, regulates that cardinal electors are to refrain from “any form of pact, agreement, promise, or other commitment of any kind which could oblige them to give or deny their vote to a person or persons” under the possibility of automatic excommunication.

"And from there Benedict was elected," he said.  Francis said that group of cardinals, later revealed that they did not want a "foreign" pope. Although he did not explain what the comment meant, the term "foreign" was used in reports after the 1978 election of St. John Paul II, the first non-Italian pontiff since 1523. Although Francis was born and raised in Argentina, South America, his parents were Italian. Francis said that Ratzinger "was my candidate" in the conclave and that he came out of the conclave feeling pleased. "If they had elected someone like me, who makes a big mess, he would not have been able to do anything," he said. "Benedict XVI was a man who went with the new style, and it wasn't easy for him. He found a lot of resistance inside the Vatican." When questioned about what he thought the Holy Spirit was saying to the Catholic Church through the election of Benedict, the pope said the Spirit was saying, "Here I am in charge. There is no room for maneuvering." In the book excerpt, Francis prefaces his response to the journalist's questions about the 2005 election by explaining that while cardinals are sworn not to reveal what happens in a conclave, "popes are allowed to tell." 

When asked about reforming the next conclave, the pope responded 'there won't be anything. All popes have reformed the conclave. All of them. I have not yet reformed it because it seems like a secondary thing to me.'

The book is due to be released in Spanish on April 3rd; yet with no publication date for an English-language translation for the book.