- The Catholic Thing - https://www.thecatholicthing.org -

Benedict XVI wanted then-Carinal Bergoglio as Secretary of State

An Argentine priest who knew Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires prior to his election as Pope Francis claims that in 2005, Pope emeritus Benedict XVI offered Bergoglio the position of Secretary of State, effectively the second most important position in the Vatican after the papacy itself, but the future pontiff turned it down. [1]