ARGENTINA
International Business Times
By Jacey Fortin | March 13 2013
Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was selected as the new pope on Wednesday, and many Catholics in the South American country are rejoicing at the news that the new pontiff — who assumed the name Francis — hails from the busy streets of their own capital city, Buenos Aires.
“It was a bit of a surprise,” said Fernando Vivarra, a member of the a Catholic organization called Accion Catolica Argentina, which is based in Buenos Aires. “We are very happy. But we would be happy with any pope who got the most votes of the conclave.”
The voting process began in Vatican City on Tuesday morning, making the Wednesday decision an unexpectedly quick one for the 115 cardinals who conducted their deliberations inside the Sistine Chapel. Some observers were predicting a safe choice for the next leader of the Church — perhaps a Vatican insider from Italy or elsewhere in Europe — but the actual decision was a rather unexpected one. Bergoglio will be the first non-European pope in modern history and the very first from South America.
In Argentina, more than 6,000 miles away from the cheering crowds in Vatican City, the news is still settling in — and reactions are varied. There has been plenty of commotion inside the Buenos Aires Cathedral, but it had nothing to do with Pope Francis.
On Tuesday, about 150 secular Argentines stormed the iconic cathedral in order to protest subsidies to private schools, many of which are Catholic. Demonstrators argued that the $262 million awarded to private schools for subsidies last year took money away from the public sphere.
Because of those protests, a mass that had been scheduled at Buenos Aires Cathedral in honor of the Vatican conclave was cancelled.
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