World Catholics welcome Francis as leader of Church

SANTIAGO - The Roman Catholic faithful across Latin America rejoiced that the new Pope Francis was one of them but, while positive, reaction from the rest of the world was not always so effusive as the 2,000-year-old Church confronts a time of great crisis.

Some commentators said Francis had a reputation for being as conservative as his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, but Latin Catholics celebrated that cardinals had, in his own words, gone "to the end of the world" to find him.

"A Latino is more open to others, while a European is more closed," said 75-year-old Ana Solis outside Santiago's Metropolitan Cathedral in Chile. "A change like this, with a Latin American, will be very important for us Latin Americans."

Latin America is home to 42 percent of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics and the election of Argentine Jorge Mario Bergoglio ended a run of nearly 1,300 years of European popes.

To Mexico City cab driver Martin Rodriguez, another European pope "would be like eating the same bread every day".

Francis 1 must overcome crises caused by child abuse by priests and the leak of secret papal documents that uncovered corruption and rivalry inside the Church, trouble that Benedict declared in February was beyond his physical capabilities.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, who two years ago accused the Vatican of hampering an inquiry into child sex abuse by Irish priests, summed up the thoughts of many.

"We pray that he will have the strength, the good health and the spiritual guidance needed to lead the Catholic Church in the many challenges it faces," Kenny said.

Francis also faces challenges from outside his Church, with the growth of Islam a particular concern in Africa and Asia, and the advance of secularism in its European heartland and beyond.

In Indonesia, home to the world's largest Muslim population, some were mindful of the criticism of Islam by previous popes. Slamet Effendy Yusuf, head of the Indonesian Ulema Council, said most of the world's Muslims live in the Third World.

"We think that the new pope will better understand why in Islam there tends to be an attitude of negativity towards the West, because he is from a developing country himself," he said.

"I hope the new pope will ... engage more in dialogue and not confrontation. We believe this is a new chapter in the history of relations between Muslims and Catholics," Yusuf said.

PARADIGM SHIFT

Others questioned whether Francis, the 76-year-old son of an Italian immigrant railway worker, was too old to lead a Church that needs to attract younger worshippers to fill emptying pews.

"I think they missed an opportunity to renew themselves: they've picked another old guy," said Daniel Villalpando, a 32-year-old web designer in Mexico City.

Even in the Philippines, the Church's bulwark against Islam in Asia, Father Francis Lucas of the Catholic Bishops Conference noted Francis' age. "He is not young anymore," Lucas said.

Charismatic Philippines Cardinal Luis Tagle - at 55, relatively young - was considered an outside chance to become the first Asian pontiff, but Filipinos welcomed the new pope.

"This is a radical change. The majority of Catholics live outside Europe and we have been praying for this. It is about time that a paradigm shift like this happens," Father Emmanuel Alfonso, executive director of the Jesuit Communications Foundation, said in a television interview.

While a theological conservative, Bergoglio is also known for his concern for the poor. He chose to become the first pope to be named for St Francis of Assisi, who died in 1226 after a life of poverty and simplicity.

To some, that suggested that there would be a change of style rather than substance in the leadership of the Church.

"He's not going to be a big liberal, there will not be big changes in Church teaching," said Jesuit Father James Bretzke, professor of moral theology at Boston College.

"He has a reputation of being rather inflexible and staunchly conservative."

World leaders also reacted warmly to the new pope. U.S. President Barack Obama called him "a champion of the poor and the most vulnerable among us".

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, an atheist who has set up a national inquiry into child abuse by institutions including the Church, said the election of a pope from the "new world" was a historic event.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he hoped Francis would continue to promote inter-faith talks.

The Russian Orthodox Church welcomed the election and hoped "that relations between the Orthodox and Catholic churches will develop in a positive spirit".

Russia's dominant church shares the Roman Catholic Church's conservative stance on many moral issues, but disputes still strain relations nearly a millennium after the Great Schism split Christianity into eastern and western branches.

The World Jewish Congress also offered congratulations.

In Cuba, where church-state relations have warmed after years of tension and where Benedict visited in 2012, President Raul Castro sent a message of congratulations.

Activists hoped Francis would do more to help victims of sexual abuse by the clergy. "It should certainly be among the top priorities for the new pope," said Helen Last, director of Australian group In Good Faith.

For now, at least, Francis' calm, quiet demeanour mattered more for the faithful than his outlook. "He's a very humble man, very close to the people," said Leonardo Steiner, general secretary of the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops.

Despite the emotion, jokes soon emerged on social media, particularly with the new pope known to be an avid soccer fan.

Some on Twitter called the choice of an Argentine "the hand of God", a reference to a 1986 World Cup goal that Argentine star Diego Maradona scored with his hand.