Rome (kath.net / KNA) The Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio and current Pope Francis have, according to a new book release, located at his election in Conclave in March during initial ballots behind Milanese Cardinal Angelo Scola. Bergoglio's choice was foreseeable by the third ballot, and in the sixth ballot he received the required majority.
This was by the Argentine journalist Elisabetta Pique in a biography of the new pope: "Francis, Life and Revolution," which appears next week in bookstores. The fifth round was invalid meanwhile and has been then canceled, according to the book which knew details in advance.
According to Pique, who claims to have known Bergolio for more than ten years and has good contacts in Argentinian church circles, Scola had received approximately 30 and Bergoglio 25 votes of the 115 cardinal electors on the first ballot. Around noon of the second day of the election, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires had obtained a numerical majority over the Italian churchman.
During the fourth ballot he had not quite reached the required majority of 77. The fifth round of the afternoon was invalid because too many ballots had been found in the urn, says Pique. Apparently, two ballots were stuck together. They were not even counted but immediately burned, it says in the book. In the last and sixth ballot then, Bergoglio had received "90 votes".
The papal election is generally under high secrecy. The participating Cardinals must undertake to maintain secrecy about the election. But in the past details of votes and voters movements during the papal elections had always penetrated to the outside. However, there has never been a religious opinion or even acknowledgment of such revelations.
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Translation: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
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