Eye on Papacy: Non-Catholics react to new Pope

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Leaders of other faiths appeared to embrace the selection, but also used the opportunity to lay out their own hopes for the new pontiff.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: USA Today
By Alia E. Dastagir | March 14, 2013

With the words "Habemus papam" -- we have a pope -- Catholics had a new leader, and the wider world had a new ministry to watch.

The direction the new pope takes his flock is of great importance for committed Catholics, but the papacy is also closely watched by other faiths. The pope wields vast influence as the world's most powerful moral leader.

Pope Francis of Buenos Aires, formerly Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, emerged from the conclave as the first pope from outside Europe in modern times, the first Jesuit, the first from Latin America, and the first named Francis, in recollection of St. Francis of Assisi, who dedicated his life to helping the poor.

Leaders of other faiths appeared to embrace the selection cautiously, not unlike some Catholics themselves, offering prayers and congratulations, but also using the opportunity to lay out their own hopes for the new pontiff.

The Orthodox Union lauded Pope Francis for his solidarity with the Argentinean Jewish community and expressed hope that the Pope "will be an active force in the battle against those who would use religion as a justification for violence and intolerance."

Abraham Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, issued the following statement after the election Wednesday: "We believe that the election of Francis is a significant moment in the history of the Church. We look forward to working with him to continue to foster Catholic-Jewish relations as we have with his predecessors. There is much in his record that reassures us about the future."

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