The Francis Effect
The Francis Effect
By
Daniel H. Levine
Latin America's first pope, Argentine-born Francis I, has staked out a new inclusive appraoch, but he also reflects hopes and anxieties about the future of Catholicism in the region.
The election of Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as Pope Francis aroused enthusiasm—and expectations—in Latin America. As the first pope of non-European origin in nearly 1,300 years, and the first ever from Latin America, he embodies both hopes and concerns for the future of the Catholic Church in this part of the world.
The Catholic Church has long dominated cultural life in Latin America, a region that accounts for 40 percent of the world’s Catholics. But although it remains the single largest church globally, over the last half century, Catholicism...
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