Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger celebrates the special “pro eligendo summo pontifice” (to elect Supreme Pontiff) Mass at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City on April 18, 2005. / Credit: MARCO LONGARI/AFP via Getty Images
CNA Staff, Apr 1, 2024 / 13:30 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis said he was “used” in the 2005 conclave in an effort to block the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, though he supported the candidacy of the man who soon became Pope Benedict XVI.
“He was my candidate,” Francis said of his predecessor in excerpts from the forthcoming book “The Successor,” published by the Spanish newspaper ABC on Easter Sunday.
In the book, Pope Francis told Spanish journalist Javier Martínez-Brocal that his name, then-Cardinal Jose Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, was put forward as part of a “complete maneuver” by an unnamed group of cardinals to manipulate the conclave’s outcome.
“The idea was to block the election of [Ratzinger],” he explained. “They were using me, but behind them they were already thinking about proposing another cardinal. They still couldn’t agree on who, but they were already on the verge of throwing out a name.”
Francis said that at one point of the conclave, which began on April 18, 2005, he was receiving 40 of the 115 total votes. If cardinals continued to support him, Ratzinger would not have reached the necessary two-thirds threshold to be elected, likely prompting a search for an alternative candidate.
Francis said that he realized the “operation” was afoot on the second day of voting and told the Colombian Cardinal Dario Castrillón to not “joke with my candidacy” and cease supporting him, “because I’m not going to accept” being elected.
Austen Ivereigh, the pope’s English-speaking biographer, has previously written that Bergoglio, “almost in tears,” had begged not to be elected.
Ratzinger, who had been the longtime prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under Pope John Paul II, was elected that same day.
Pope Francis did not say who this group of conclave manipulators consisted of nor who they planned to introduce as a third candidate, but the Argentinian prelate said that the group of cardinals “did not want a ‘foreign’ pope.”
Several accounts from the time have claimed that a group of liberal European cardinals, known as the Saint Gallen Group, attempted to manipulate the outcome of the 2005 conclave. Three members of the group, German Cardinals Walter Kasper and Karl Lehmann and Belgian Cardinal Godfried Danneels, also participated in the 2013 conclave that elected Francis. According to Ivereigh, they advocated for Bergoglio after first securing his assent, a claim the cardinals have denied.
According to Universi Dominici Gregis, an apostolic constitution governing papal conclaves, cardinal electors must 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 threat of automatic excommunication.
Conclave proceedings are, by definition, secretive, as the term is derived from a Latin word that means a “locked room.” But in “The Successor,” Francis said that while cardinals are sworn to secrecy regarding conclave proceedings, “the popes have license to tell it.”
Pope Francis also revealed that while others were putting his name forward in the hopes of forcing a stalemate, he believed Ratzinger “was the only one at that time [who] 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,” the Holy Father said of his predecessor, who served from 2005 to 2013.
Francis also said that he left Rome happy that Ratzinger had been elected and not himself.
“If they had chosen someone like me, who makes a lot of trouble, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything,” he said. “At that time, it would not have been possible.”
Nonetheless, Pope Francis added that the papacy “wasn’t easy” for Benedict XVI, who “encountered a lot of resistance within the Vatican.”
Pope Francis was also asked what the Holy Spirit was saying to the Church through the election of Benedict XVI.
“’I am in charge here,’” Francis said of the Spirit’s response. “’There is no room for maneuver.’”
“The Successor” is part of a flurry of Francis-focused books being released in the 87-year-old Jesuit’s 11th year as pontiff, which also includes “Life: My Story Through History,” the pope’s first autobiography.
The new book, which focuses on the relationship between Pope Francis and Benedict XVI, is set to be published in Spanish on Wednesday, April 3, with no details yet available on an English edition.
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The sisters Madeleine and Marie-Liesse together with Louis Antona at the entrance of Greece. The three young people covered the distance from Paris to Jerusalem on foot, arriving in mid-May 2024. “I needed to walk 4,500 kilometers to understand that Jesus is not just in Jerusalem, but was by my side every step of the way,” Antona told CNA. / Credit: Photo courtesy of French pilgrims Madeleine and Marie-Liesse
Jerusalem, Jun 18, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).
On Sept. 17, 2023, two sisters left Paris and walked for approximately eight months to Jerusalem. Madeleine and Marie-Liesse, 19 and 22, who grew up in a Catholic family, decided to become pilgrims to grow in their faith.
“We needed to make the faith our own,” they told CNA. “This pilgrimage was to discover God, to truly search for him and deepen our faith. We learned that we can trust God; he takes care of us in everything. The Gospel is not a joke.”
Two months later, in mid-November 2023, Louis Antona, 24, also left Paris on foot, bound for Jerusalem. The three young people met providentially in Albania, walked together through Turkey, then parted ways and reunited in Jerusalem. They shared the story of their pilgrimage with CNA.
“I needed to walk 4,500 kilometers to understand that Jesus is not just in Jerusalem but was by my side every step of the way,” Antona told CNA. He walked a total of 189 days and arrived in Jerusalem on May 18.
Madeleine and Marie-Liesse — who asked that their last name not be used to protect their privacy — left from the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre in the center of Paris with the blessing of their parents and a priest.
“It was a calling from God,” Madeleine said of the decision she and her sister made to leave. “There’s no need for reasons when God calls; you simply need to follow what he tells you.”
Madeleine and Marie-Liesse during a moment of their journey, between Slovenia and Croatia. “The faith of the people struck us: during Advent, tradition dictates that Mass be attended every morning at 6, and every time we went, the church was packed with people,” they told CNA. The two sisters left Paris on September 17, 2023, and walked for about eight months to Jerusalem. Credit: Courtesy of French pilgrims Madeleine and Marie-Liesse
The sisters created a simple blog to keep friends and family updated on their pilgrimage. The photos and brief stories reveal all the freshness of two young people on a journey while not hiding moments of doubt and difficulty.
“We chose to embark on this journey as beggars,” Marie-Liesse told CNA. “We left with just a few clothes and nothing else — no food, no money. We wanted to surrender ourselves into the hands of providence. Every evening, we knocked on people’s doors asking for shelter, a bed, and food. The Lord always provided.”
Their days were marked by walking and prayer.
“We didn’t have a strict rule because we had to adapt every day to the people who hosted us, the place, and the situation,” Marie-Liesse explained. “But we had a framework: We knew we had to pray in the morning, at midday, at night… It was important for us to be faithful to God. Every day, we also recited a rosary, praying for the intentions entrusted to us.”
The most challenging moment was making the decision to continue the journey after hearing that war had broken out in the Holy Land. “We were in Germany and full of doubts about whether to go on.”
Their journey led them to cross Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia. In Croatia, “the faith of the people struck us: during Advent, tradition dictates that Mass be attended every morning at 6, and every time we went, the church was packed with people,” the sisters wrote on their blog.
They stopped for a month in Medjugorje (Bosnia and Herzegovina), where their family joined them for Christmas.
“It was a difficult time. Again, we didn’t know what to do. But after a period of discernment, we realized that Christ was calling us back on the road again,” Madeleine said.
Madeleine and Marie-Liesse crossed Montenegro and arrived in Albania, where they encountered Antona.
“I had just finished my studies and wanted to offer something to God,” Antona told CNA. “I wasn’t sure what, but I thought that the best thing I had at that time was time itself. So, I decided to offer God a year of my life by embarking on a journey. It was a challenge; I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy walking and being alone.”
Louis Antona, 24, during a moment of his journey. “I had just finished my studies and wanted to offer something to God,” he told CNA. “I thought that the best thing I had at that time was time itself. So, I decided to offer God a year of my life by embarking on a journey.” Credit: Photo courtesy of Louis Antona
Antona decided to leave, despite the war. “I believe the hardest part of a pilgrimage like this is deciding to start. I knew that if I gave up because of the war, I would never do it again. Anyway, I thought that by the time I arrived, the war would already be over.”
Madeleine and Marie-Liesse are filled with wonder at the manifestation of providence in every detail of their pilgrimage, in the beautiful weather and in the rain, in every small encounter — those who hosted them after seeing them at the bus stop, those who taught them how to make bread, the gentleman who opened his door just before a downpour. “If we had arrived a minute later, we wouldn’t have met him,” they said.
The encounter with Antona wasn’t coincidental either. The two sisters had prayed to God to give them a travel companion.
“We planned to not go through Turkey because we were two women alone, but we would have liked to go that way. So we asked God to meet one pilgrim, and we met him,” the sisters explained.
The three crossed Macedonia and Greece, arriving in Turkey on Palm Sunday. In this predominantly Muslim country, they celebrated Easter, warmly welcomed by the small French-speaking community there.
The sisters Madeleine and Marie-Liesse together with Louis Antona received a blessing from a priest during a Mass in Turkey. They arrived in Turkey on Palm Sunday 2024. In this predominantly Muslim country, they celebrated Easter, warmly welcomed by the small French-speaking community there. Credit: Photo courtesy of Louis Antona
“Every day of this pilgrimage was a miracle,” Antona said. “Every day we have met people who smiled or were nice to us. I have to say that in Turkey we found the most welcoming people.”
“It is not uncommon for the Turks to spontaneously lend us a hand,” Madeleine and Marie-Liesse wrote on their blog. “In Turkey, we encountered an infinite respect for passing strangers and for Christianity, even though Christians here are forced to protect themselves from regular attacks.”
The arrival of Madeleine and Marie-Liesse in Albania. In the photo, Marie-Liesse is in front of a statue of Mother Teresa, who was originally from this country. “Every evening, we knocked on people’s doors asking for shelter, a bed, and food. The Lord always provided,” they told CNA. Credit: Photo courtesy of French pilgrims Madeleine and Marie-Liesse
Upon leaving Turkey, the paths of the three pilgrims split again. The sisters’ route went through Cyprus but they could not find a way from there to Jerusalem by sea due to suspension of transportation because of the war. Providentially, they met someone in Cyprus who offered to pay for airfare, and the sisters arrived in Tel Aviv on May 6. Three days later, on the feast of the Ascension, they were in Jerusalem.
“Many times, we thought we couldn’t reach Jerusalem,” Madeleine said. “We learned that the journey is even more important than reaching the goal. Being here is a great gift, just to be here.”
“We unpacked our bags once and for all, knelt before this Holy Land, and prayed. What peace, what a moment of grace! As we admired the sunrise and the golden light that brought color to the roofs of the old city, we could reread the wonders of God and meditate on the Gospels. His infinite love overwhelmed us,” the two sisters wrote on their blog.
The sisters Madeleine and Marie-Liesse received a blessing from a Franciscan friar at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher after their arrival in Jerusalem. “The greatest gift is to be here and understand what happened here, to see with our own eyes, to witness the actual places,” Madeleine said. “We were able to pause in every place, to pray and meditate in silence.” Credit: Photo courtesy of French pilgrims Madeleine and Marie-Liesse
Madeleine has no doubts: “Prayer is what carried us. When you’re weak, that’s when you’re strongest because that’s when God can act in you; you don’t take up all the space. Trusting in God can be challenging, but when you understand that God only wants you to be happy and will give you everything you need, then you realize you have everything to be happy in this moment; you can trust him.”
Ten days later, on the eve of Pentecost, Antona also arrived in Jerusalem. “Even if I had to stop somewhere else, at least I would have aimed to reach Jerusalem. This is a very important city for Christians, but the journey you take to reach it is also very important.”
French pilgrim Louis Antona arrived in Jerusalem on May 18, at the vigil of Pentecost. “Every day of this pilgrimage was a miracle,” he said. Credit: Photo courtesy of Louis Antona
The three pilgrims are still in the Holy Land. They have had the opportunity to participate in various celebrations and to visit the holy places in addition to many other sites in the area.
“The greatest gift is to be here and understand what happened here, to see with our own eyes, to witness the actual places,” Madeleine said. “We were able to pause in every place, to pray and meditate in silence.”
A journey like this isn’t for everyone, but all three of the pilgrims agree that “if God calls you, go in peace. If God helps you, everything becomes possible.”
The French pilgrims rest under the portico of the Church of the Beatitudes on a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee. In the photo is Louis Antona. A journey like this isn’t for everyone, but, the three young people said, “if God calls you, go in peace. If God helps you, everything becomes possible.” Credit: Photo courtesy of French pilgrims Madeleine and Marie-Liesse
ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 26, 2023 / 16:30 pm (CNA).
The Primatial Archdiocese of Mexico criticized the “tireless interest” of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) “in decriminalizing abortion” in… […]
Elon Musk attends a session during the Cannes Lions International Festival Of Creativity 2024 on June 19, 2024 in Cannes, France. / Credit: Marc Piasecki/Getty Images
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 18, 2024 / 17:37 pm (CNA).
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His Holiness surprisingly admits to knowledge of the 2005 effort by a group of cardinals, some alleged members of the St Gallen Group to have illicitly advocated for him, then Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio in defiance of Universi Dominici Gregis and possible excommunication. He remonstrated he didn’t want this, prayed and that God, “Who’s in charge” intervened for Joseph Ratzinger. God adding “There is no room for maneuver”.
There’s a slight glitch. A similar scenario occurred during the 2013 conclave led again by Cardinal Kasper et Al cardinals advocating for once again for Bergoglio. This was revealed by Austen Ivereigh in his first edition of the Great Reformer, then immediately redacted out in the 2nd edition when he realized his spilling the beans. Although the 2013 revelation in this article was not revealed by His Holiness, rather by CNA’s Jonathan Liedl. Might we presume His Holiness was aware of the 2013 rigging scenario and wishes to suggest to us that his election was favorably sanctioned by the God who is in charge?
The election of a successor to the Petrine ministry is the job of the Holy Spirit. Mere mortals are expected to pray, fast, discern, and allow the Holy Spirit to perform the unthinkable.
Surely at this pojnt in time Pope Francis does not mean to suggest that packing the conclave would be inoffensive to the electoral rules.
Earlier reminiscences by others indicate that Bergoglio was on more intimate terms with the members of the so-called Sankt Gallen Mafia.
Also, in reading through these reports one can place what happened in the timeline alongside what was occurring in one’s own Archdiocese.
The second link describes the vision for regionalism and decentralization.
Pre-2013
‘ As Ivereigh described in his 2014 book on Pope Francis, Murphy-O’Connor was also tasked with lobbying for Bergoglio among his North American counterparts as well as acting as a link for those from Commonwealth countries. ‘
Pre-2005
‘ Müller-Meiningen also reports on the first contacts between Bergoglio and the Sankt Gallen Group. In February of 2001, Kasper, Lehmann, and the Archbishop of Westminster, Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, were all raised by Pope John Paul II to be cardinals, together with Bergoglio. At a meeting of cardinals in that May of 2001, where the topic of the relationship between the Universal Church and the local churches was being discussed, the participants got to know each other better. According to Müller-Meiningen, it was then that “Bergoglio made contact with Martini.”
At the following 2001 synod of bishops [“The Bishop: Servant of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the Hope of the World”] in October of that same year, “the Sankt Gallen Group was very impressed with the skill and the views of the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, who wrote the final report of the synod.” And, as the authors of the Danneels biography recount, “the appreciation was mutual.”
Moreover, Müller-Meiningen continues, the Sankt Gallen Group, at their yearly gatherings each January, recurrently discussed such themes as “sexual morality, the ordination of women, how to deal with remarried divorcees, also about the role of the local churches.”
Curial Cardinal Achille Silvestrini, who, since 2003, had replaced the ailing Cardinal Martini in the group, reported himself about the bad health of John Paul II. When the names of potential candidates of a future pope were discussed, Bishop Ivo Fürer, the organizer of the group, remembers, according to Müller-Meiningen: “Also the name Bergoglio came up.” Fürer later received a post card from those members of the Sankt Gallen Group who had participated in the Conclave of 2005, and it contained the following words: “We are here in the spirit of Sankt Gallen.” Müller-Meiningen convincingly shows that the Sankt Gallen Group did not at all favor Cardinal Ratzinger.
An anonymous diary of one of the participating cardinals recounts how Bergoglio, after Martini withdrew his candidacy because of his own health problems, was gaining more and more votes, but, then, in the end, in order to avoid a split among the cardinals, Bergoglio withdrew his own candidature. After the election of Joseph Ratzinger, the Sankt Gallen Group formally met one last time, in 2006, when Ivo Fürer retired and left his post in Sankt Gallen. ‘
I must credit the LIFESITE commenter Two Small Coins, for bringing the 2 LIFESITE links and the TELEGRAPH one, above, to the fore in the comboxes there yesterday. They were not tracked by myself nor unearthed in an extensive research.
His Holiness surprisingly admits to knowledge of the 2005 effort by a group of cardinals, some alleged members of the St Gallen Group to have illicitly advocated for him, then Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio in defiance of Universi Dominici Gregis and possible excommunication. He remonstrated he didn’t want this, prayed and that God, “Who’s in charge” intervened for Joseph Ratzinger. God adding “There is no room for maneuver”.
There’s a slight glitch. A similar scenario occurred during the 2013 conclave led again by Cardinal Kasper et Al cardinals advocating for once again for Bergoglio. This was revealed by Austen Ivereigh in his first edition of the Great Reformer, then immediately redacted out in the 2nd edition when he realized his spilling the beans. Although the 2013 revelation in this article was not revealed by His Holiness, rather by CNA’s Jonathan Liedl. Might we presume His Holiness was aware of the 2013 rigging scenario and wishes to suggest to us that his election was favorably sanctioned by the God who is in charge?
The election of a successor to the Petrine ministry is the job of the Holy Spirit. Mere mortals are expected to pray, fast, discern, and allow the Holy Spirit to perform the unthinkable.
Surely at this pojnt in time Pope Francis does not mean to suggest that packing the conclave would be inoffensive to the electoral rules.
Earlier reminiscences by others indicate that Bergoglio was on more intimate terms with the members of the so-called Sankt Gallen Mafia.
Also, in reading through these reports one can place what happened in the timeline alongside what was occurring in one’s own Archdiocese.
The second link describes the vision for regionalism and decentralization.
Pre-2013
‘ As Ivereigh described in his 2014 book on Pope Francis, Murphy-O’Connor was also tasked with lobbying for Bergoglio among his North American counterparts as well as acting as a link for those from Commonwealth countries. ‘
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-st-gallen-group-cardinal-dies/
Pre-2005
‘ Müller-Meiningen also reports on the first contacts between Bergoglio and the Sankt Gallen Group. In February of 2001, Kasper, Lehmann, and the Archbishop of Westminster, Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, were all raised by Pope John Paul II to be cardinals, together with Bergoglio. At a meeting of cardinals in that May of 2001, where the topic of the relationship between the Universal Church and the local churches was being discussed, the participants got to know each other better. According to Müller-Meiningen, it was then that “Bergoglio made contact with Martini.”
At the following 2001 synod of bishops [“The Bishop: Servant of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the Hope of the World”] in October of that same year, “the Sankt Gallen Group was very impressed with the skill and the views of the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, who wrote the final report of the synod.” And, as the authors of the Danneels biography recount, “the appreciation was mutual.”
Moreover, Müller-Meiningen continues, the Sankt Gallen Group, at their yearly gatherings each January, recurrently discussed such themes as “sexual morality, the ordination of women, how to deal with remarried divorcees, also about the role of the local churches.”
Curial Cardinal Achille Silvestrini, who, since 2003, had replaced the ailing Cardinal Martini in the group, reported himself about the bad health of John Paul II. When the names of potential candidates of a future pope were discussed, Bishop Ivo Fürer, the organizer of the group, remembers, according to Müller-Meiningen: “Also the name Bergoglio came up.” Fürer later received a post card from those members of the Sankt Gallen Group who had participated in the Conclave of 2005, and it contained the following words: “We are here in the spirit of Sankt Gallen.” Müller-Meiningen convincingly shows that the Sankt Gallen Group did not at all favor Cardinal Ratzinger.
An anonymous diary of one of the participating cardinals recounts how Bergoglio, after Martini withdrew his candidacy because of his own health problems, was gaining more and more votes, but, then, in the end, in order to avoid a split among the cardinals, Bergoglio withdrew his own candidature. After the election of Joseph Ratzinger, the Sankt Gallen Group formally met one last time, in 2006, when Ivo Fürer retired and left his post in Sankt Gallen. ‘
https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/the-themes-of-the-synod-the-themes-of-the-sankt-gallen-mafia-club/
General
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/11248263/English-cardinal-Cormac-Murphy-OConnor-lobbied-for-Pope.html
I must credit the LIFESITE commenter Two Small Coins, for bringing the 2 LIFESITE links and the TELEGRAPH one, above, to the fore in the comboxes there yesterday. They were not tracked by myself nor unearthed in an extensive research.