A Jesuit cardinal from Buenos Aires is the new pope.
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, the son of an Italian railway worker, becomes the first Jesuit and first South American pontiff, according to news reports.
He has taken the name Francis, another first.
"Hopeful about him because he is a Jesuit," said Campbell resident Joe Hernandez on the Campbell Patch Facebook page. "Jesuits have a history as educators, free thinkers and a bit of a rebel streak within the church."
The London Guardian and National Catholic Reporter described Bergoglio as a Jesuit intellectual who travels by bus, cooks his own meals and lives simply. After being appointed cardinal in 2001, "Bergoglio persuaded hundreds of Argentinians not to fly to Rome to celebrate with him but instead to give the money they would have spent on plane tickets to the poor," the Guardian said.
He also strongly opposed Argentina's decision to legalize gay marriage, saying children should be raised by a father and a mother.
He originally planned to be a chemist, but began studying for the priesthood in 1958, according to the National Catholic Reporter.
In addition to his advocacy for the poor, Bergoglio believes in contraception to prevent the spread of disease, faces no questions over abuse scandals and would reform the Vatican Curia, according to the Guardian.
Shortly after Francis addressed the crowd at St. Peter's Square, the Vatican issued a tweet via its papal Twitter account. It said in Latin, "HABEMUS PAPAM FRANCISCUM," which translates roughly as "We have Pope Francis," according to the Los Angeles Times.
"I think it's great that there is finally a wider world view," said Campbell resident Linda Belli Bargas on the Campbell Patch Facebook page. "Though I heard that he is from Germany, now living in Argentina. So, is he REALLY a non-European?"
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We’ve long worried about child sex crimes and cover ups by religious order clerics like the Jesuits. Religious orders have often been worse than bishops at hiding predators. The Jesuits, in particular, have a troubled track record on children’s safety. So we’re struck by how this new pope, coming from a religious order, has both an enormous opportunity and duty to help prevent heinous assaults against kids by this crucial and relatively secretive segment of the Catholic clergy. Very little about this crisis has been exposed in South and Central America. We hope victims, witnesses and whistleblowers in Argentina will find the courage to step forward and disclose how they have been and are being treated in the new pope’s home archdiocese. An Argentinian archbishop, Edgardo Gabriel Storni, of Santa Fe, was convicted and sentenced to prison because of sexual abuse. We are grateful he doesn’t work in the Vatican and isn’t a member of the Curia. We hope that will give him the courage to shake things up and put the prevention of abuse and cover up first on his priority list. For the safety of kids and the healing of victims, we hope he starts by exposing the names of predator priests – current and former, living and deceased – in his home archdiocese. David Clohessy, SNAP National Director