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| World reacts to new pope Francis of America |
World reacts to new pope Francis America
Obama said he looked forward to working with the pope to advance peace and dignity for people, regardless of their faiths.
"The election of a pope from the 'new world' is an occasion of genuinely historic proportions," Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said in a statement.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a leading Muslim civil rights group based in Washington, offered its support.
"We congratulate Pope Francis on his election by the College of Cardinals and offer the Muslim community's support and cooperation in every positive effort he will undertake for peace, justice and the betterment of humanity," Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a news release.
In Asia, Father Raymond O'Toole, the Hong Kong-based secretary general of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences said, "It is great news to see that he's a very humble man, one who is dedicated to reach out to the poor, has a very simple lifestyle himself. Those things can be very, very positive for the Holy See."
In Australia, Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart said the Vatican had chosen a pope committed to social justice and Catholic doctrine.
"As Archbishop of Melbourne and President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, I joyfully welcome the glad news of the appointment of Pope Francis," he said in a statement. "For two weeks, the Catholics of the world have been without the spiritual father of their family. We have been looking forward to this special moment when our new Holy Father, chief teacher and shepherd would be announced."
But not everyone was thrilled by the choice of this pope.
Pope Francis is seventy-six. He reportedly came in second when Benedict XVI was elected. He was born in Buenos Aires, in 1936. There have been African Popes, a millennium and a half ago, but Francis is the first non-European since then, and the first ever from what old Popes call the New World. One of the first details mentioned after his name became known was that he takes public transportation. As with kings, we like to imagine Popes in disguise, walking in dark streets. That is not so likely, whatever Francis’s preferences: when he came out, after a moment in which the curtain on the balcony overlooking the square seemed to quiver, he smiled in a way that made him hard to forget. It made him seem, really, like someone who had been known to the crowd for a long time. That may just be the daze of a first-glance surprise, but it is different from the reaction to Benedict.
