Pope’s election shows Latin American church’s vitality, archbishop says

22 Mar 2013

By The Record

Archbishop Jose H. Gomez celebrates Sunday Spanish Mass on March 17 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles. PHOTO: CNS/Victor Aleman, The Tidings

The election of Pope Francis reflects the vitality of the Latin American church, said Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles.

Writing March 20 in La Opinion, the largest Spanish-language daily newspaper in the U.S., Archbishop Gomez said the election of an Argentine as pope also “is a sign of changing times.”

“The Catholic Church’s center of gravity has long been undergoing a global shift. The church’s growth and creative energy no longer come from Western Europe, but from Africa, Asia and most of all, Latin America,” the archbishop wrote.

Immigration from Latin and Central America is changing the face of the U.S. and the church “forever,” he said.

“The new papacy should awaken our memory of our country’s deep Christian roots and its connections to the church’s missions in Mexico and Latin America,” he added.

Citing Blessed Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, who described Latin America as the “continent of hope,” Archbishop Gomez said the new pontiff is “the face of church’s new hope” and “points to the rising Latino profile” within the U.S. church.

Explaining that 40 percent of the world’s Catholics live in Latin America and that more than half of all Catholics 25 and younger are Latino, Archbishop Gomez said Latinos “now have a pope who is a native speaker of their language and a pope who understands their traditions and cultural realities.”

“Millions of immigrants can look now to a pope who knows their experience of coming to a new country to make a new life,” Archbishop Gomez said.

Pope Francis “should be a powerful symbol” as the debate over comprehensive immigration reform progresses in the U.S., he added.

The archbishop continued, “Could there be a more beautiful sign of every immigrant’s dream? Our new pope is the son of a hard-working immigrant who has grown up to become the leader of more than a billion people in the world’s largest religious group.”

By taking the name of Francis, in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio illustrates his vision of a church of material simplicity, working in humble service to the poor, loving creation and adopting an attitude of nonviolence and forgiveness, he said.

“From Francis, Catholics can expect to hear a new call to our Christian duty to serve those who are most in need and to seek justice and dignity for the human person,” Archbishop Gomez wrote. – CNS