In a new book-length interview, Pope Francis said that Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan, viewed as a leading contender in the 2013 conclave, asked other cardinals to “vote for Bergoglio.”
The Pontiff also said that European cardinals “badgered” him with questions about liberation theology during the conclave in which he was elected Pope.
In the book, El Sucesor, the Pontiff claimed he was “used” in a bid to stop the election of Pope Benedict in the 2005 conclave. He also criticized Archbishop Georg Gänswein (Pope Benedict’s personal secretary) and described Cardinal Robert Sarah, the former prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, as a “good man” who was “manipulated” and became “bitter.”