Photograph by David
While the world was waiting for the result of the election of the new pope, Argentinians were hopeful a fellow countryman would become the pope. The white smoke at the Vatican announced the decision was made: the first jesuit and the first Argentinian pope, Jorge Bergoglio -now Francis I- would become the maximum authority of the Catholic Church after Benedict XVI.
On Twitter, Argentinians spoke about it using different hashtags, like#Bergoglio, #HabemusPapam, #PrimerasPalabrasDelPapa [es](Pope’s first words), #LaBarraDelPapa [es](Pope’s fans), #FranciscoI [es], among others. The reactions have been diverse.
For many it was a surprise, like for @JessyDelPino [es]who said:
@JessyDelPino: What?? I wake up and we have an Argentinian POPE! I thought my old-man was kidding me!!!
#HabemusPapam#Bergoglio#Francisco1
Even non-believers like Lucero Aguirre (@LuuceroAguire) [es]shared their views:
@LuuceroAguirre: The truth is I cannot believe it, I’m not a believer or anything, but it is really a PRIDE to FINALLY have a pope the way it has to be!
#Bergoglio
In the blog Politics and Politicians[es]Rosa Alcántara re-published an article that talked about the tumultuous relationship between Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s government and the new pope. The former bishop and the head of state have had their differences on many issues, for example gay marriage [es]:
One of the issues that had Cardinal Bergoglio against the government was the Gay Marriage Law project. On July 9th, 2010, days before its approval, an open letter by Bergoglio said that gay marriage was a war against God which also contemplated the possibility of child adoption by gay couples.
Another clash happened during the May Revolution celebration, a national holiday that takes place every year and includes the traditional Tedeum at Buenos Aires’ Cahtedral. In 2008, nonetheless, the Argentinian president decided to change the location. The blog Radio Cristiandad commented[es](Radio Cristianity) on this event:
Even though the government fulfilled the paperwork needed to change it, the decision to do it in Salta, where a multi-religion prayer will be held, generated anxiety among church groups. The government said it was to “federalize” the national holiday.
President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner will also ditch, as her late husband did during his presidency, a contesting homily from the Argentinian church leader, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, during the May 25th Tedeum.
Argentinians also remember that during the operation that former president Néstor Kirchner had in 2010, Kirchner’s family prevented [es]Bergoglio’s representative to administer the sacrament.
Others, like Gladys Lopreto in the blog Igualdad Dignidad [es](Dignity Equality), criticized the reactions of the Argentinian Episcopate on issues like abortion.
Meanwhile, far from politics, many Argentinians celebrated the good news. Aracelli Crescimbeni (@aracellicres) [es]wrote:
@AracelliCres:: Event the
#Vaticano (Vatican) realized that we are the best of the world#OrgulloArgentino (Argentinian Pride)#Bergoglio
Chants have also emerged, like Miko’s (@Emi_Eguiazu) [es]who celebrated that the new pope is Argentinian and not Brazilian, clearly referring to the football rivalry between the two countries:
@Emi_eguiazu:
#LaBarraDelPapa (Pope’s fans) yo’ Brazilian, yo’ Brazilian, you seem so bitter, we have the pope, you can keep Pelé
As for the government’s relationship with Bergoglio, Gabi (@GabiManducaa) [es]“chanted”:
@GabiManducaa:: Yo’ Cristina, yo’ Cristina, you seem so bitter, the pope is not kirchnerist, what the hell will you do?
#LaBarraDelPapa
And others considered that Francis I could free them from their sins, like Julian (@MatilaFonte) [es]who tweeted:
@MatilaFonte: Yo’ Bergolio, yo’ Bergolio, we won’t tell you more, this year everybody sins, anyway you’ll forgive us
#LaBarraDelPapa
On the other hand, president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner shared on her Twitter account (@CFKArgentina) [es]a note congratulating [es]his Sanctity Francis I.
Written by Laura Schneider and translated by Elizabeth
