Pope Francis reveals he was used in ‘manoeuvre’ during 2005 conclave to prevent Benedict’s election

ROME – Pope Francis has said that he was used in an “manoeuvre” to block the election of the future Benedict XVI during the 2005 conclave, but that he resisted the move and voted for Benedict himself.

The revelation comes in a new book about Pope Francis’ relationship with his predecessor,

“It was a complete manoeuvre. The idea was to block the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger,” then Pope reveals in The Successor, which consists of an interview done by Spanish journalist Javier Martinez-Brocal with ABC Español. “In that conclave, the fact is known, they used me.”