The Pope reveals that in 2005 they used him to "block the election of Ratzinger and negotiate a third candidate"

He says that Benedict XVI was "his candidate"

ROMA, 31 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Pope has revealed that in the 2005 conclave, after the death of John Paul II, the cardinal electors used his name to "block the election of Ratzinger and then negotiate a third, different candidate."

"It happened that I had forty of the one hundred and fifteen votes in the Sistine Chapel. They were enough to stop the candidacy of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, because, if they had continued to vote for me, he would not have been able to reach the two-thirds necessary to be elected pope. ", narrates in the book 'The successor, (Planet) written by Pope Francis in collaboration with ABC's correspondent in the Vatican, Javier Martínez-Brocal, which is published on April 3.

In an excerpt from the book advanced by 'ABC', which is collected by Europa PRESS, Francisco assures that the cardinals swear not to reveal what happens in the conclave, but the popes have license to tell it. In that conclave - the fact is known - they used me," he details.

The Pope details this "maneuver" and makes it clear that by voting for him "the idea of ​​those who were behind the votes" was not that the then Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio would be elected. "It was a complete maneuver. The idea was to block the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. They were using me, but behind them they were already thinking about proposing another cardinal. They still did not agree on who, but they were already about to launch a name. They told me, later, that they did not want a 'foreign' pope," he adds.

Likewise, Francis also reveals that in the conclave that began on Monday, April 18, 2005, his candidate was the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

"He was the only one who at that time could be pope. After the revolution of John Paul II, who had been a dynamic pontiff, very active, with initiative, who traveled... there was a need for a pope who maintained a healthy balance, a transitional pope," he says about his vote.

"And it's true. If they had chosen someone like me, who makes a lot of trouble, I wouldn't have been able to do anything. At that time, it wouldn't have been possible. I came out happy. Benedict XVI was a man who accompanied the new style," he explains. .

He also details that Benedict XVI encountered "a lot of resistance within the Vatican."

"What was the Holy Spirit saying to the Church with that new pope?

With the election of Joseph Ratzinger he was saying: *I am in charge here. There is no room for maneuver," he concludes.