Argentines show different reactions to election of new pope

The election of former Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the leader the Roman Catholic Church has led to different reactions among the public in Argentina,Press TV reports.


On Wednesday, Cardinal Bergoglio, 76, of Argentina was named the new pope of the Roman Catholic Church, taking the nickname of Pope Francis I.

Many Argentines praise Francis I for his commitment to battle poverty, his conservative character and his austere way of life.

The new pope was the only Cardinal to walk through the San Pedro Square to attend the conclave that would then name him pontiff and shunned the papal limousine later.

Others Argentines, however, think the pope faces a troubled background that links the complicity of Argentina’s Catholic Church to the country’s 1976-1983 civil-military dictatorship and question the role Bergoglio played as the head of the Jesuit order in the 70s.

During the period, 30,000 people were persecuted, killed and tortured by the military.

The first non-European pope in modern times and the first Latin American pope in history has also maintained a troubled relation with the ruling Front for Victory leadership.

Nestor Carlos Kirchner, the former president and late husband of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, called Bergoglio “the real representative of the opposition.”

In 2010, tensions mounted between Argentina’s Catholic Church and government, when the Congress passed the gay marriage law, a project fueled by the national government.

Center-left Fernandez officially congratulated the ex-Archbishop of Buenos Aires, but urged him to promote “justice and fairness” as well as “fraternity among religions.”

She called on the pontiff to “take the message of emerging countries to world powers” as a Latin American Pope.

“I expect Bergoglio to be committed to the poor in the world, clarify the corruption that has been revealed to exist in the Vatican and fight against the terrible scourge of sexual abuses in the Catholic church. I hope he is up to the task and gives answers to these priorities,” said Argentine lawmaker Guillermo Carmona.

Leaders of Argentina’s Islamic community, who are the supporters of Fernandez’s administration, have acknowledged the differences between the 76-year-old pontiff and the government but, like the president, positively welcomed the news of his election.

Meanwhile, Public Communication Secretary and presidential spokesman Alfredo Scoccimarro has confirmed Cristina Fernandez will be attending Pope Francis assumption on March 19th.

Pope Francis replaces Pope Benedict XVI as the spiritual leader of the Roman Catholics.

On February 11, the 85-year old Benedict XVI announced his decision to step down, saying he was no longer able to carry out his duties due to his advanced age. He officially resigned on February 28, becoming the first pope to resign in 600 years.

Citing unnamed sources, a recent report by the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, however, said that the pontiff decided to resign after an internal church probe informed him about a series of blackmails, grafts and underground gay sex in the Vatican.

The new pope faces a surmounting range of problems including sex abuse allegations, squabbling within the Vatican and the threat of secularism.