Pope vows to 'embrace poorest' at grand inauguration

Pope Francis knelt at the tomb of St Peter and donned the symbols of papal power at a sumptuous inauguration on Tuesday, vowing to embrace the "poorest, the weakest" of humanity.

Nearly 200,000 pilgrims cheered Latin America's first pontiff in St Peter's Square, waving flags from around the world as the newly elected popes promised that his would be a "lowly, concrete and faithful" papacy.

In an address strongly influenced by the teachings of St Francis of Assisi, the saint he has chosen as his inspiration, he urged world economic and political leaders not to "allow omens of destruction and death to accompany the advance of this world!"

His voice raised in emotion, the 76-year-old Francis said a pope must "embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important."

"Amid so much darkness, we need to see the light of hope," said the Argentinian, after touring a sun-drenched St Peter's Square in an open-top car to cries of "Long live the pope!"

The former Buenos Aires Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was a fervent critic of the International Monetary Fund and unregulated market capitalism -- a stance that could make him an important voice in an austerity-hit Europe.

At the ceremony, the 265th successor to St Peter received from his cardinals the papal pallium -- a lambswool strip of cloth that symbolizes the pope's role as a shepherd and has red crosses to represent the wounds of Jesus Christ.

The "Fisherman's Ring" bestowed on him by Angelo Sodano, dean of the college of cardinals, is a personalized signet ring traditionally worn by popes in honor of St Peter -- a fisherman.

"With Pope Francis, the Church will be closer to the people and to the modern world," said Rodrigo Grajales, a 31-year-old Colombian priest.

Francis gave the thumbs-up as he toured the square, stopping to kiss babies and getting out of the car at one point to bless a disabled man.

"Go Francis! We Will Be With You Wherever You Go!" read a sign held up by a group of Brazilian nuns in St Peter's Square.

Sister Rosa, an elderly Italian nun, said she expected the pope would be "another St Francis on Earth for love, goodness, poverty and humility".

The Vatican said there were between 150,000 and 200,000 people present at the ceremony.

The son of an Italian immigrant railway worker, Francis has already won hearts in Rome with a disarmingly informal style which contrasted with Tuesday's pomp and ceremony.

The Vatican said 132 foreign delegations attended.

Bergoglio was the surprise choice at last week's conclave of cardinals to find a successor to 85-year-old Benedict XVI, who last month brought a sudden end to a papacy that had often been overshadowed by scandal, saying he was too old to carry on.

He was the first pope to resign since the Middle Ages.

Francis has called for a "poor Church for the poor", warning the world's cardinals against pursuing worldly glories and saying that without deep spiritual renewal the Roman Catholic Church would crumble "like a sand castle".

The arrival of world leaders has presented him with a first diplomatic headache in the form of a request from compatriot President Cristina Kirchner of Argentina to mediate in a row with Britain over sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.

Francis is still haunted by criticism from left-wingers at home for failing to speak out against the excesses of Argentina's military rule during the dictatorship of the 1970s and 1980s.

The Chinese government also said it would not be sending any representatives after Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou said he was attending.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe flew in, sidestepping an EU travel ban over human rights abuses that does not apply to the Vatican.

Latin America was heavily represented at the inauguration of the first non-European pope in nearly 1,300 years, with the presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico and Paraguay all in attendance.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and European Union leaders were also present.

Leaders of the Eastern Catholic Rite were also there, including Bartholomew I, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

Vatican radio said it was the first time a patriarch of Constantinople had attended an inauguration since 1054 when the eastern and western halfs of Christendom split.

The Vatican was in security lockdown for the event, with 3,000 officers deployed including sharpshooters on the rooftops and bomb disposal experts.

Church leaders have urged Francis to move quickly to reform the intrigue-filled Roman Curia, the central administration of the Roman Catholic Church, and his appointments in the coming weeks will be closely watched.

Francis has indicated he will press for a friendlier faith that is closer to ordinary people and for social justice, although the moderate conservative is unlikely to change major tenets of Catholic doctrine.

Vatican experts say he has also signaled he will pursue a more inclusive "collegial" style of leadership together with the cardinals and bishops.

Vast crowds also gathered on the other side of the Atlantic outside the Buenos Aires cathedral to dance and sing as they watched the inauguration.

Catholic high school students chanted slogans praising Francis, while seminarians and nuns waved Vatican flags and signs supporting the new pope.

"This pope has awakened deep emotions within me, not only because he's from Argentina, but because of his warmth as a person," Celia Farias, 33, told AFP.

"As a Catholic, it has renewed my faith."

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Simpler inauguration for a more modest pope

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis celebrates his inaugural Mass on Tuesday among political and religious leaders from around the world and amid a wave of hope for a renewal of the scandal-plagued Roman Catholic Church.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to cram St. Peter's Square and and surrounding streets for the Mass on Tuesday to formally install Francis as the new leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics.

Six sovereigns, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and other leaders as well as heads of many other faiths will be among the 130 delegations on the steps of the famous basilica.

Among them will be Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew from Istanbul, the first time the spiritual head of Orthodox Christians attends a Roman pope's inaugural Mass since the Great Schism between western and eastern Christianity in 1054.

The former Buenos Aires Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio has aroused enormous enthusiasm and interest in the Catholic world by the modest way he has assumed a post that was modelled after a Renaissance monarchy and carries titles such as "Vicar of Jesus Christ" and "Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church".

In the six days since his election, he has referred to himself only as Bishop of Rome, the position from which his authority flows, and hinted he plans to reduce Vatican centralism and govern in consultation with other bishops.

SIGNALS OF CHANGE

Vatican watchers expect him to send further signals of change by using a simpler liturgy than retired Pope Benedict, who preferred a more baroque style.

The ceremony has also been shortened to two hours after a three-hour service in 2005 when Benedict began his papacy.

Francis will start the day with a ride around St. Peter's Square to greet the crowds. He will receive the visiting political leaders in the basilica after the Mass.

On Wednesday, Francis will receive more than 30 delegations representing other Christian churches, as well as the Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh and Jain religions, a Vatican spokesman said.

He will address foreign ambassadors to the Vatican on Friday and have lunch with Benedict -- their first meeting since the conclave -- on Saturday before leading celebrations the next day for Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week leading to Easter.

Francis had his first taste of the diplomatic challenges of the papacy when on Monday, Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez asked him to support Buenos Aires in a dispute with Britain over the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.

A Vatican spokesman had no comment on the request.

He will also find himself greeting an international pariah, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, who has been under a European Union travel ban since 2002 because of allegations of vote rigging and human rights abuses.

The Vatican is not part of the European Union, allowing him to bend the rules.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Pope signals more open papacy for troubled Church

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis was to meet the world's press on Saturday at the dawn of an already tradition-breaking leadership for a troubled Catholic Church, after the Vatican rejected claims he did nothing to save lives during Argentina's "Dirty War".

The special audience at 1000 GMT was being billed by the Vatican as part of the greater openness that has characterized the first days in office of the former Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the first pope from Latin America.

The 76-year-old pontiff has displayed an informal style that contrasts sharply with that of his more academic predecessor Benedict XVI.

Under the simple slogan of "walk, build, confess" and speaking in a folksy Italian, he has urged Catholic leaders to shun worldly glories and lead a spiritual renewal in the Church that will reach "the ends of the earth".

The son of an Italian emigrant railway worker, he has warned them that without action the Church could end up becoming a "castle of sand" and just a charity with no spiritual foundation.

The Catholic Church has been rocked in recent years by multiple scandals including thousands of cases of abuse of children by pedophile priests, stretching back decades, and intrigue in the Vatican bureaucracy.

Catholics are also abandoning churches in huge numbers in an increasingly secularized West.

A moderate conservative in Argentina where he was the archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis is unlikely to change any of the fundamental tenets of Catholic doctrine but he could push for more social justice and a friendlier faith.

Vatican experts have said his priorities will also include reforming the administration of the Church and the Vatican bank, which is being investigated in a money laundering case.

The Vatican on Friday rejected claims that Pope Francis had failed to protect two Jesuit priests who were kidnapped and tortured by Argentina's brutal military junta (1976-1983), and said he had in fact helped save lives.

The Vatican said the accusations were "defamatory" and "anti-clerical".

Bergoglio has been criticized by leftist Argentinians for his actions at a time when he was head of the country's Jesuits but not yet a bishop.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said Bergoglio in fact "did a lot to protect people during the dictatorship" in which 30,000 died or disappeared.

But the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo organization, founded in 1977 to help locate children kidnapped under the junta, accused the pope of failing to speak out against the former military rulers.

"He has never spoken of the problem of people who had disappeared under dictatorial rule, and 30 years have already passed since our return to democracy," said Estela Carlotto, whose daughter Laura was abducted and killed during the military era.

There was more evidence Friday of the new pope's informal style when he visited Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mejia in a Rome hospital, a day after the 90-year-old suffered a heart attack.

He spent 20 minutes with the cardinal before blessing the hands of the cardiologist treating him.

"It was amazing. He is really down to earth. He makes you feel at ease immediately," the doctor, Marco Miglionico, told reporters.

Francis chatted warmly with staff and also blessed seriously ill patients before praying at the hospital's chapel.

The new pontiff's inauguration mass will take place on Tuesday -- the Feast of St Joseph, the patron saint of the universal church.

He has urged the faithful in his native Argentina not to travel to Italy for the mass but rather to give the money the trip would have cost to charity. Nonetheless, heads of state from all over the world are expected to be present, while more than a million people are expected to throng Rome.

The new pontiff is also due to meet Benedict, who last month became the first pope to resign for 700 years, in the coming days.

Francis fans have already begun snapping up rosary beads and postcards adorned with his face at souvenir shops in the Vatican and New York's Bice restaurant has created a new dish -- barbecued steak pasta -- in homage to the pope's Argentinian and Italian roots.

His election is being seen as a nod to the Church's power in Latin America, which is home to 40 percent of the world's Catholics, while in Europe, its traditional power base, it is ageing and declining.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Pope Francis warns Church of dangers of inaction

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis warned on Thursday that the troubled Catholic Church risked becoming little more than a charity with no spiritual foundations if it failed to undergo renewal.

The 76-year-old Argentinian told the cardinals who elected him as Latin America's first pope that the Church could "end up a compassionate NGO".

"I would like all of us after these days of grace to have the courage to walk in the presence of the Lord," Francis said in his first mass, amid the splendour of the Sistine Chapel.

He warned the cardinals against "the worldliness of the Devil".

"Walking, building and confessing are not so easy. Sometimes there are tremors," the pope said, in a homily that will be scrutinised for clues to the style of his leadership.

The new head of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, who was formerly known as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, had begun his reign by meeting people in Rome and laying a bouquet of flowers in homage to the Virgin Mary in a basilica.

The pope also prayed at the altar of St Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order to which he belongs.

He returned to the priests' quarters where he stayed before the conclave and settled his own bill.

The election of the son of an Italian emigrant railway worker, who was considered a rank outsider, was met with widespread surprise and expressions of hope for change in a Church riven by scandal and internal conflict.

His elevation was also seen as recognition of the Church's power in Latin America, which now accounts for 40 percent of the world's Catholics, while it is in decline in Europe.

"The choice of Bergoglio shows that the Church is determined not to remain in mourning for the crisis in Europe but has opened its doors to the revitalising energy of Catholicism's biggest continent," Vatican expert Luigi Accatoli told AFP.

Projecting an image as a simple man of the people, the pope chose to name himself after St Francis of Assisi, the 13th century saint who shunned the riches of his family to devote himself to God and the poor.

The Vatican revealed that, for the ride back to the conclave lodgings after Wednesday's election, Francis shunned the papal limousine with the "Vatican City State One" number plates and instead boarded a minibus with the cardinals.

It was in keeping with his image as a man who as archbishop of Buenos Aires chose to live in a modest apartment rather than the official residence and took buses to work.

Poisonous rivalries

Experts said they expected the new pope to shake up the Vatican, where poisonous rivalries within the Curia -- its governing body -- plagued the papacy of Francis's predecessor Benedict XVI.

Benedict, 85, abruptly ended his eight-year papacy last month saying he lacked the strength to deal with the rigours of the job.

The Vatican confirmed that Francis had part of a lung removed as a boy, but its spokesman Federico Lombardi insisted: "This is not a handicap in his life.

"Those who know him have always seen him in good health."

Francis and Benedict are to meet within days.

The new pope is also the first non-European pontiff in nearly 1,300 years and the first from the Society of Jesus order, or the Jesuits, known for their work in education and promotion of social justice.

World leaders greeted his election, while the Organisation for the Islamic Conference said Muslim nations hoped "the relationship between Islam and Christianity will regain its cordiality and sincere friendship" during his papacy.

The pointed message reflected a rocky relationship between the two faiths that reached a low in 2006, when Benedict sparked fury across the Muslim world with remarks seen as linking Islam with violence.

Bergoglio is not without controversy.

He was only 36 when he was named to lead Argentina's Jesuits, a job he held for six years under the country's 1976-83 military dictatorship.

The future pope and other Catholic clergy were lambasted by leftist critics for failing to act against the "Dirty War" during which 30,000 people died or disappeared.

More recently, his opposition to gay marriage and contraception has brought him into conflict with the Argentine government of President Cristina Kirchner.

The Argentinian of Italian descent, the 266th pope, faces the immediate challenges of stamping his authority on the Vatican machinery and trying to coax back worshippers that are deserting churches across the West

The sexual abuse of children by paedophile priests stretching back decades cast a dark shadow over the conclave, which included several cardinals implicated in the scandals.

A US man who has just won a $1 million settlement for abuse at the hands of a Californian priest called for Francis to excise the "cancer" in the Church and defrock one of those cardinals, former Los Angeles archbishop Roger Mahony, for allegedly hushing up the abuse.

"I hope that our new pope defrocks ... Cardinal Mahony for his role in covering up the abuse that I suffered," Michael Duran said, while acknowledging: "I don't have high hopes for that."

Francis's inauguration mass will take place on Tuesday -- a significant date in the Catholic calendar because it is the Feast of St Joseph.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Local celebrities hail new Pope

MANILA, Philippines -- Local celebrities joined the estimated 1.2 billion Roman Catholics all over the world in welcoming Pope Francis, the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, was elected to be the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church on Wednesday.

On the microblogging site Twitter, celebrities such as Ruffa Gutierrez, Bianca Gonzales and Anne Curtis hailed the new pope.

Below are the tweets of our local celebrities about Pope Francis.

Actress Ruffa Gutierrez: "Habemus Papam...a new pope has been chosen! I might be asleep when he is introduced to the world so please update me from the Vatican."

Host Tim Yap: "All hail Pope Francis the First, the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church! May you serve the people &bless them with your benevolence."

Talent manager Pia Magalona: "Good morning! We have a new Pope: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires. He takes the name Francis <3 br="">
ABS-CBN reporter Ginger Conejero: "Woke up to news of our new Pope and how humble and brilliant he is #historyunfolding #PopeFrancis"

Actress Ara Mina: "Our new Pope Francis I. Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio SJ, of Argentina (kapangalan ng mommy ko hehehe Francis Marie)"

Actress Anne Curtis: "Goodnight to the new Pope. Pope FRANCIS."

Actor Ping Medina: "I like the Jesuits. And I like the vibe of this new dude, Pope Francis :)"

Basketball player Chris Tiu: "Woke up to d news that we have a new Pope!! This is great news for us all!! God Bless Pope Francis! Let's pray for Him & d Church!"

Actress Nikki Valdez: "Good morning tweeps!.. New day, new Pope!"

Singer-actor Guji Lorenzana: "Congrats Pope Francis! Please guide the Catholic Church well. I pray that in  taking on St. Francis' name, you take his values and apply it."

Actress-host KC Concepcion: "Habemus papam" - Catholic world's got a new Pope! ...I quite like the aura of Pope Francis. Just sayin. (He just gave a blessing to all men & women of Goodwill.)"

Host Lucy Torres Gomez: "A kind face that is quick to break into a smile. God bless Pope Francis."

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Vatican readies for conclave to elect new pope

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican installed a special chimney on the Sistine Chapel from which white smoke will signal the election of a new leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics as cardinals prepare for the centuries-old tradition starting on Tuesday.

The conclave of 115 cardinal electors will be held under Michelangelo's famous frescoes to choose the 266th pope, after the ageing Benedict XVI became the first pope to resign since the Middle Ages saying he wanted to be "a simple pilgrim" again.

French cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, the Archbishop of Paris, told AFP in an interview that there were around "half a dozen possible candidates."

Italian cardinal Angelo Scola, the Archbishop of Milan, is often cited as a favourite, along with Canada's Marc Ouellet and Brazil's Odilo Scherer.

Other names mentioned on the rumour mill in recent days have been Hungary's Peter Erdo, Mexico's Jose Francisco Robles Ortega, Austria's Christoph Schoenborn and Sri Lanka's Albert Malcolm Ranjith.

"The problem with this conclave is that there is no early frontrunner like Joseph Ratzinger in 2005," said John Allen, a Vatican expert at the National Catholic Reporter, a US weekly.

Luis Antonio Tagle, the Archbishop of Manila, a youthful and popular cardinal with strong pastoral skills, has also been mentioned as a possible.

The first vote will be on Tuesday after cardinals move into a Vatican residence where they will live in total isolation for the duration of the conclave and hold a special mass "For the Election of the Roman Pontiff" in St Peter's Basilica.

Cardinals will swear a solemn oath not to reveal the secrets of their deliberations on pain of excommunication at 1545 GMT on Tuesday after which the actual conclave will begin, the Vatican said.

The strict rules also apply to their residence, St Martha's House, where windows will be locked and telephones allowed for internal use only.

Ballots will usually be burnt daily at 1100 GMT and 1800 GMT, with the smoke turned black to show no two-thirds majority has been found or white to signal that a papal election has taken place.

The conclave could last up to a few days.

The decision on the date of the conclave was taken on Friday at one of a series of closed-door meetings held by cardinals over the past week to discuss the many challenges facing the next pope.

Cardinals, with no new pope to defer to and no late pope to grieve over, have seized on the rare chance to air grievances against the Vatican administration and call for greater transparency.

The 85-year-old Benedict last month admitted he was too weak in body and mind to keep up with a fast-changing modern world and became only the second head of the Catholic Church ever to resign by choice in its 2,000-year history.

"Pope emeritus" Benedict has stayed out of pre-conclave debates and is living at the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo near Rome for the next couple of months, after which he will move to a former convent inside the Vatican.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi on Saturday said Benedict's "Fisherman's Ring" -- the personalised gold ring that symbolised his pontifical powers -- had been annulled with an "X" mark along with four other official seals.

The ring and the seals were traditionally disposed of to prevent the use of the papal seal on any false documents after a pontiff's death.

Conclave lockdown

Vatican workers meanwhile have put the final touches on preparations for the Sistine Chapel, blacking out windows to prevent any spying on the conclave and installing scrambling devices to prevent any communication with the outside world.

Under the rules of the conclave, cardinals have to swear not to reveal any details of their deliberations on pain of excommunication and the Sistine Chapel will be swept for recording devices.

No-one except the "cardinal electors" -- cardinals below the threshold age of 80 -- can be present during the two daily rounds of voting.

The Renaissance jewel takes its name from pope Sixtus IV, who had it built between 1477 and 1480.

It is situated next to St. Peter's Basilica.

One of the most visited sites in the world, with up to 20,000 tourists a day, the Sistine Chapel features one of art history's most famous scenes, depicting God stretching out his arm to touch Adam's hand and give him life.

The chapel is now off limits to visitors and the Floreria, the Vatican department in charge of preparing for papal audiences and ceremonies, has been outfitting it for the conclave with a raised platform and tables.

The cardinals -- traditionally known as "Princes of the Church" -- will sit on cherry-wood chairs to fill in their ballot papers.

Folded votes will then be slid into an urn.

On the left of the entrance to the chapel, two stoves with one common flue have been installed for the burning of the votes.

Once the new pope accepts his nomination, he emerges onto a balcony overlooking St Peter's Square to a cheering crowd and the Latin cry of "Habemus Papam"! ("We Have a Pope!")

source: abs-cbnnews.com