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Pope Francis sees his predecessor Benedict as a “transitional pope”

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Pope Francis sees predecessor Benedict as a necessary “transitional pope”

Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, Vatican.

© Domenico Cippitelli / Action Press

The Pope has spoken out about Benedict in a new book. After the death of John Paul II, a pope who could maintain a healthy balance was necessary.

Pope Francis sees his predecessor Benedict XVI as a transitional pope. After the upheavals of the Polish Pope John Paul II, the German Joseph Ratzinger was the only candidate who could be pontiff at the time of the conclave, i.e. the election of a new pope, in 2005, said the current head of the Catholic Church in a statement pre-published excerpt from a book of interviews that will be published in Spanish on Wednesday.

“After the revolution of John Paul II, who was a dynamic, very active pontiff, who took the initiative, who traveled… There was a need for a pope who could maintain a healthy balance, a transitional pope,” said the 87-year-old year-old Francis with a view of the conclave, from which Ratzinger appeared as Benedict XVI. emerged.

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During the papal election at that time, some cardinals had the idea of blocking Ratzinger’s election, said Francis in the book by the Vatican correspondent of the Spanish newspaper “ABC”, which will be published under the title “El Sucesor” (The Successor). The Cardinals also brought his name into play for this. But: “If they had elected someone like me, someone who caused a lot of chaos, I would not have been able to achieve anything. At that time that would have been impossible,” said Francis.

The German Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, born Joseph Ratzinger in Marktl in Bavaria in 1927, was pope from 2005 until his surprising resignation in 2013. The Argentinian Jorge Bergoglio, Francis’ real name, emerged as his successor from the 2013 conclave. Benedict died on December 31, 2022 at the age of 95.