Election of Pope Francis - Reactions and Commentary

Headlines

• New Pope Lived Simple Life in Argentina, by David Uebbing. Catholic Register 03/13/13. Pope Francis brings a pastoral approach to his ministry and is a man of prayer.
• Argentina's Cardinal Bergoglio elected pope, chooses Francis, by Francis X. Rocca and Cindy Wooden. Catholic News Service 03/13/13.
• Jorge Mario Bergoglio is the new Pope of the Catholic Church: Francis I, by Andrea Tornielli. "The Vatican Insider" La Stampa 03/13/13.
• Cardinal Bergoglio elected as Pope Francis First pope from Latin America is also the first Jesuit to sit in the Chair of Peter. Catholic World Report 03/13/13.
• The First Pope Named Francis, by Sandro Magister. Chiesa 03/13/13. He is Jorge Mario Bergoglio. He is Argentine and Jesuit. He leaves Buenos Aires for Rome. His appointment has upset all of the predictions. But he comes from far away.

Formal Responses

• P. Adolfo Nicolás S.J., Jesuit Superior General
• Javier Echevarría, Prelate of Opus Dei
• Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
• Society of St. Pius X

Reactions and Commentary

• Praying with Pope Francis, by Kevin Stayley Joyce. First Things "First Thoughts" 03/13/13. "Unlike the public greetings the past several popes have delivered, Pope Francis conducted his appearance as something close to a liturgy."
• Catholics overjoyed at first Latin American pope, by Deborah Ray and Michael Warren. Associated Press 3/13/13.
• A New Pope on a Pilgrim's Path, by Daniel Johnson (editor of Standpoint Magazine) 03/13/13:

  Francis may take some getting used to, after the two great popes who came before him, but he is a humane and gentle pastor who will win over hearts as well as minds. This pope comes from the Society of Jesus, but his mission is to restore the church into what it once was and could be again: a mission to spread the word of Jesus in society. If Pope Francis loves justice and hates iniquity, he may indeed find himself an exile in this world—but then so did Jesus himself.

• "I am very happy that a Latin American has been elected. We know the hopes that it would have been someone from the continent that has the majority of Catholics [in the world]." -- Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., director of the Holy See Press Office (VIS).
• First thoughts about Pope Francis, by John Thavis, author of The Vatican Diaries: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities and Politics at the Heart of the Catholic Church.
• USCCB President Congratulates Newly Elected Pope Statement of Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
• Why Pope Francis May Be a Catholic Nightmare, by Michael Brendan Dougherty, national correspondent for the American Conservative 03/13/13. "Liturgical traditionalists (myself included) can only be depressed by this election–it is almost the worst result possible for those of us who think the new liturgy lost the theological profundity and ritual beauty of the Tridentine Mass."
• A Pope From the People The cardinals choose an Argentine pastor from a missionary tradition. Wall Street Journal 03/13/13.
• Quick Thoughts on Pope Francis I, by J. Peter Nixon. Commonweal 03/13/13.
• A New Pope for a New Chapter in an Old Story, by John Haldane, professor of philosophy at the University of St. Andrews and consultor to the Pontifical Council for Culture. First Things 03/13/13.
• How I received our new Pope, by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf. (What does the prayer really say?) 03/13/13. [Fr. Z. also relates his take on Jorge Card. Bergoglio in 2009].
• Pope Francis I: a humble man from the New World whose first challenge is to end the scandals, by Damien Thompson. Telegraph UK. 03/13/13.
• Jewish leaders, groups welcome Pope Francis, by Jonah Lowenfeld. Jewish Journal 03/13/13.
• Jewish Leaders Welcome Francis, by David Mills. First Things "First Thoughts" 03/14/13. A roundup of Jewish reactions to Pope Francis' election.
• Armenian Orthodox Patriarch on Pope Francis, by Mark Movsesian. First Things "First Thoughts" 03/14/13.
• The Pope From Beyond the Seas, by Philip Jenkins. "The more we examine Argentina, the more perfect Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio seems as a choice, even for the more conservative Europeans." Chronicle of Higher Education 03/13/13.
• The First American Pope: Catholicism’s turn into an evangelical future, by George Weigel. National Review 03/14/13.
• My Take: What it means for one of my brothers to become pope, by Fr. James Martin, SJ. CNN.com 03/14/13.