The New Pope Francis - Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio

The new pope has been selected after two days of the Cardinals deliberating on their election of the successor to Pope Benedict. A black man, a cardinal from Ghana, was in the running to be pope, but he did not make it. The new pope, Jose Mario Bergoglio, is a Jesuit and he is from Argentina, in South America. "The new pope, 76, who will be called Francis ... is also the first non-European leader of the church in more than 1,000 years." NYT

This will be my second time of seeing a pope elected and it remains a historic event for me. Roman Catholics have not had it easy in the past few decades but the denomination remains a pillar in Christendom. While the new Pope, Francis, is non-European like some people wanted, I wonder about his age and how strong he is to carry on the papal work.

I hope this new pope will continue to build on the modernization of the policies of the church to include those who are marginalized including on issues that affect women. Also, he has to be firm in tackling pedophilia in the church in a way thay benefits and affirms the dignity of victims while making the abusive perpetrators face justice.