White smoke rose from the Vatican today after the cardinals selected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina to be the next pope. He will be known as Pope Francis I. CORRECTION: He will be known as Pope Francis. According to John Allen Jr. of the National Catholic Reporter, Bergoglio was the “runner-up” to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger during the last papal conclave in 2005. More excerpts from Allen’s profile of the new pope are after the jump. Bergoglio was not considered a leading contender; one Irish betting site had the odds on his becoming pope at 25/1. On the other hand, he was one of the leading Latino contenders. Pope Francis I will be the first non-European pontiff. Last month Senator Tom Harkin said it would be a “great move in the right direction” for the cardinals to select a Latino pope. UPDATE: Added comments from Iowa bishops and Democratic State Representative Bruce Bearinger’s speech about the new pope on the Iowa House floor today.
SECOND UPDATE: Added Representative Bruce Braley’s comments on the new pope.
President Barack Obama has not announced any new cabinet appointments in the last few days, but Thomas Perez, currently head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, is rumored to be the next secretary of labor. He would face strong opposition from Senate Republicans, including Iowa’s Chuck Grassley.
Susan Rice, who withdrew her nomination for secretary of state late last year, may become the president’s next national security adviser.
Congressional Black Caucus Chair Marcia Fudge wrote to the president this week, expressing concern that none of Obama’s new cabinet appointees are African American.
Attorney General Eric Holder, appointed in Obama’s first term, remains the Obama administration’s only black Cabinet-level appointee. According to a Politics365 analysis released last week, that’s the fewest by any president over the last 38 years.
This is an open thread.
John Allen Jr. of the National Catholic Reporter, profiling Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Back in 2005, Bergoglio drew high marks as an accomplished intellectual, having studied theology in Germany. His leading role during the Argentine economic crisis burnished his reputation as a voice of conscience, and made him a potent symbol of the costs globalization can impose on the world’s poor.
Bergoglio’s reputation for personal simplicity also exercised an undeniable appeal – a Prince of the Church who chose to live in a simple apartment rather than the archbishop’s palace, who gave up his chauffeured limousine in favor of taking the bus to work, and who cooked his own meals.
Another measure of Bergoglio’s seriousness as a candidate was the negative campaigning that swirled around him eight years ago.
Three days before the 2005 conclave, a human rights lawyer in Argentina filed a complaint charging Bergoglio with complicity in the 1976 kidnapping of two liberal Jesuit priests under the country’s military regime, a charge Bergoglio flatly denied. There was also an e-mail campaign, claiming to originate with fellow Jesuits who knew Bergoglio when he was the provincial of the order in Argentina, asserting that “he never smiled.” […]
Born in Buenos Aires in 1936, Bergoglio’s father was an Italian immigrant and railway worker from the region around Turin, and he has four brothers and sisters. His original plan was to be a chemist, but in 1958 he instead entered the Society of Jesus and began studies for the priesthood. He spent much of his early career teaching literature, psychology and philosophy, and early on he was seen as a rising star. From 1973 to 1979 he served as the Jesuit provincial in Argentina, then in 1980 became the rector of the seminary from which he had graduated. […]
Although Jesuits generally are discouraged from receiving ecclesiastical honors and advancement, especially outside mission countries, Bergoglio was named auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires in 1992 and then succeeded the ailing Cardinal Antonio Quarracino in 1998. John Paul II made Bergoglio a cardinal in 2001, assigning him the Roman church named after the legendary Jesuit St. Robert Bellarmino.
Over the years, Bergoglio became close to the Comunione e Liberazione movement founded by Italian Fr. Luigi Giussani, sometimes speaking at its massive annual gathering in Rimini, Italy. He’s also presented Giussani’s books at literary fairs in Argentina. This occasionally generated consternation within the Jesuits, since the ciellini once upon a time were seen as the main opposition to Bergoglio’s fellow Jesuit in Milan, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini.
On the other hand, that’s also part of Bergoglio’s appeal, someone who personally straddles the divide between the Jesuits and the ciellini, and more broadly, between liberals and conservatives in the church.
Bergoglio has supported the social justice ethos of Latin American Catholicism, including a robust defense of the poor. […]
Bergoglio is seen an unwaveringly orthodox on matters of sexual morality, staunchly opposing abortion, same-sex marriage, and contraception. In 2010 he asserted that gay adoption is a form of discrimination against children, earning a public rebuke from Argentina’s President, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
Nevertheless, he has shown deep compassion for the victims of HIV-AIDS; in 2001, he visited a hospice to kiss and wash the feet of 12 AIDS patients.
UPDATE: Radio Iowa’s Pat Curtis interviewed Iowa bishops today.
Archbishop Jerome Hanus, of the Dubuque Archdiocese, says he was impressed with Bergoglio’s first speech as the new pontiff. “He has a reputation as being kind of down to earth and unpretentious and all of that came through with the words and the way he spoke them,” Hanus said. “He was really identifying with the people. He invited them to first bless him before he blessed them. I thought that was rather significant and moving.”
Bergoglio chose the papal name Francis and is the first Jesuit pontiff and the first from the Americas. Hanus expects there will be a “change in style” with the new Pope. “The fact that he came out with a simple white cassock of the Pope, without any of the frills and trimmings that would’ve been possible, he identifies with ordinary people,” Hanus said. […]
Bishop R. Walker Nickless, of the Sioux City Diocese, noted that Bergoglio has been called a champion of the poor. “I think it’s very significant that he chose the name Francis, who is the patron that everyone knows – Catholic or non-Catholic,” Nickless said. “People love Saint Francis for his simplicity, humility and his love of the poor.”
State Representative Bruce Bearinger posted these remarks on Facebook today.
Earlier today, I made an announcement in the Iowa House to recognize the newly elected Pontiff, the Vicar of Christ, Pope Francis I here is that speech:
Mr. Speaker, Am I in order for an announcement?
Thank You Mr. Speaker, Fellow members of the House, Ladies and Gentlemen
Earlier today while we were in Debate, across the ocean, the World was introduced to the new spiritual leader for the Catholic Church. The Vicar of Christ, who will represent the voice of 1.1 Billion members of the the Catholic Church
Today on the 5th Ballot of the Conclave we can finally say the famous Latin Words
Habbemus Pappam
Argentinian Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio from the Jesuit order was chosen today and will be known as Pope Francis the 1st
This marks the first time that Catholic Church has chosen a Pope from the New World as we are sometimes referred, the first one from Latin America.
While many of us may not be Catholic, i believe that we can all agree in these words, as the Pope addressed the faithful at St. Peters Square earlier today:“Let’s embark now on a a journey of brotherhood in love, of mutual trust. Let us always pray for one another. Let us pray for the whole world that there might be a great sense of brotherhood”
With words like that I know that we in the House, while we may disagree politically, but we work towards goodwill to all, we work for the people that elected us, to serve them and to protect them.
I would like the body of the Iowa House to join me in a blessing for the half-a-million Catholics that reside in Iowa as they rejoice in their new spiritual leader.Thank You Mr. Speaker
SECOND UPDATE: Representative Bruce Braley (D, IA-01) released the following statement: “This is an historic moment for the Catholic Church. It’s an exciting and hopeful time for Catholics in Iowa and around the world. I wish Pope Francis I the best as he begins his service.”