ROME (CNS): Details of the secret conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI have been revealed by an unknown cardinal.
The count, along with other details, were published on September 23 in Limes, a respected Italian journal that usually focus on geopolitics.
The article reveals that on the fourth ballot of the April 18-19 conclave to elect a successor to Pope John Paul II, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger went from being five votes shy of election to having seven more than the 77 needed.
On each of the four ballots, the magazine said, the prelate receiving the second highest number of votes was Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires.
Limes said its information came from the diary of an anonymous cardinal who, while acknowledging he was violating his oath of secrecy, felt the results of the conclave votes should be part of the historic record.
The journal said it confirmed the diary’s count with other cardinals.
