[LINK] "Argentine pope: A reflection of Catholicism 'south of the equator' "

[rfmcdonald]

Ed Stocker's Christian Science Monitor article touches upon Argentine national and Latin American regional pride in the selection of Buenos Aires cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as Pope. As Stocker notes later in the article, the theme of growth in the Global South is undermined somewhat by the growth of non-Catholic sects in traditionally Catholic areas and the spread of secular norms elsewhere. (Argentina, it should be noted, adopted same-sex marriage with majority supporter before France or the United Kingdom.)

As news spread that the Catholic Church's most powerful position had gone to a non-European for the first time in more than 1,000 years residents of Argentina’s capital were scrambling to double check their smartphones – and asking each other if the news was really true.

Local media outlets had largely dismissed the idea of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, as a papal front-runner, largely because he had lost out to Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 and was an older-than-average 76. Speculation rested, instead, on a possible Italian, Canadian, or even Brazilian candidate.

But as it was confirmed that Latin America – where 40 percent of the globe's Catholics reside – had produced its first pope, crowds quickly began to swell outside Buenos Aires’ cathedral in the city’s main square. The young crowd shouted that they were “the pope’s youth,” waving the yellow and white colors of the papacy alongside Argentine national flags and pictures of the Virgin Mary. At one point, revelers burst into a rendition of the national anthem, and others repeatedly chanted “Francisco,” or Francis, the adopted name of the new pontiff.

Latinos have a great affection for the pope generally, says Timothy Matovina, a professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame. But, he adds, “They will have an even greater affection for the pope in this instance.”

“Demographics are south of the equator, not north anymore,” says Mr. Matovina. “This choice resonates with where church growth is happening.”