FaithWorld

(Combination picture shows Pope Francis (L) with his pectoral cross made of steel, waving as he arrives in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican on March 16, 2013, and his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI (R), wearing a golden cross as he greets the crowd outside his residence in the Vatican on April 21, 2005. REUTERS/Max Rossi/Kai Pfaffenbach)

With every day Pope Francis reigns, his style reveals more contrasts with his predecessor Benedict in ways that amount to an unspoken criticism of how the retired pontiff conducted his papacy.

The enthusiasm former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio has sparked among Catholics by approaching the job like a parish priest rather than a papal monarch points to a yearning for a leader the Church has not seen since the charismatic Pope John Paul II.

He showed his humbler style at his inaugural Mass on Tuesday, wearing simple white vestments, black lace-up shoes and a low modern mitre, or bishop’s hat. The vestments of the cardinals attending the Mass were more decorated than his.

By contrast, Benedict donned a shimmering golden chasuble, his voluminous outer robe, as well as red slip-on shoes and an old-fashioned ornate golden mitre for his first public liturgy on April 24, 2005.

(Attendees photograph U.S. President Barack Obama with their mobile phones at a Women’s History Month reception at the White House in Washington, March 18, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

The popular U.S. TV miniseries “The Bible” has plunged into controversy over what some viewers see as a physical resemblance between an actor playing Satan and President Barack Obama, but producers on Monday dismissed any likeness as coincidental.

The controversy began after the History Channel aired the latest episode of the popular series on Sunday evening, with Moroccan actor Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni playing the part of the devil.

(Founders of Darwin Museum in Moscow, 1912/Darwin Museum)

Russian Orthodox religious activists festooned a Moscow museum named for Charles Darwin with banners and leaflets denouncing evolution theory in a display of disdain for secular education.

The incident on Sunday at the Darwin natural history museum named for the Victorian British naturalist who expounded the theory of natural selection was a non-violent but bold attack on secular traditions that remain strong despite a post-Soviet revival of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Footage released by Orthodox activist group Bozhaya Volya, or God’s Will, showed activists unfurling a banner reading “God created the world” on the building’s facade while others threw leaflets bearing creationist slogans into the lobby of a popular destination for school trips and family outings in the capital.

(Combination picture shows Pope Francis (L) waving as he arrives in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican on March 16, 2013, wearing his pectoral coss made of steel. His predecessor Pope Benedict XVI (R), with a golden cross,  greeting the crowd outside his residence in the Vatican on April 21, 2005. REUTERS/Max Rossi/Kai Pfaffenbach)

With every day Pope Francis reigns, his style reveals more contrasts with his predecessor Benedict in ways that amount to an unspoken criticism of how the retired pontiff conducted his papacy.

The enthusiasm former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio has ignited among Catholics by approaching the job like a parish priest rather than a papal monarch points to a yearning for a leader the Church has not seen since the charismatic Pope John Paul II.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

By Enrique Marcarian

Used to covering news with headlines like hyper-inflation, devaluation, coup d'etat, protest, bond default, election, poverty, earthquake, and even papal visit, I never imagined what it would be like to cover the papal conclave in the new Pope's country of origin. What made it even more baffling was the fact that the winner was someone we never dreamed it would be.

The day the conclave began was one when all the elements around me seemed to confirm that there was no chance of an Argentine Pope. I went to the Metropolitan Cathedral to take pictures of the optimistic worshippers, and found just one nun praying in a nearly empty church.

The next day, a phone call from a colleague shook me up. He told me that a journalist, who is notorious for always being wrong in his predictions, had said, "Bergoglio won't be elected for many reasons." That was when we decided we should go to the Cathedral.

As most of you probably know already, the newly-elected Pope Francis represents a lot of firsts: First Jesuit to become pope. First Latin American (or from the ‘New World’). First pope to take the name Francis.

I’m Italian I take a special interest in his election. He’s the new archbishop of Rome and – due to a long history of mingling between the Italian state and the Catholic Church, due to culture and religion – Italians tend to follow Papal elections with a particular, even if unwanted, attention.

I was messaging my mom on Skype the night the whole thing happened - live webcam on St. Peter’s Square and everything - and I have to say a sort of emotional shiver went through my body as she texted “Biancaaaaaaaaaa” (white) to me as puffs of white smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel.

(Sacro Monte (Ort ). Chapel 14 – Saint Francis rejects the money offered by the Sultan of Egypt, 31 July 2010/Wolfgang Sauber)

Muslims in Europe see hope for better relations with Roman Catholicism after the new pope took the name Francis, recalling the 13th-century saint known for his efforts to launch Christian dialogue with Islam.

Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio chose the name after his election on Wednesday in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, who is revered for his radical poverty and humility. Francis met the sultan of Egypt in 1219 on a peace mission during the Fifth Crusade.

(Saint Vital Church in Lambton, Quebec, 1 April 2010/Fdesjardins)

Just 60 years ago the Roman Catholic Church held such sway in the Canadian province of Quebec that Protestant evangelists were jailed for refusing to stop preaching in the street.

A key challenge facing Pope Francis is the increasing secularization of Western society, and few places demonstrate this issue more than Quebec, where the Church’s influence is a shadow of the near-absolute power its held before the 1960s.

Lorne Heron, now 87, was a 23-year-old Baptist pastor in the Quebec gold-mining town of Val d’Or in 1949 when he started holding open-air gospel meetings on the sidewalks.

By Marcos Brindicci

Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

Czech journalist Jeri Hasek appeared in the hotel lobby saying to some of us Argentines, "You have a Pope! An Argentine Pope!"

The truth is, here in the Falkland Islands some swearing was heard after the news. I have to admit that, no matter what your opinion on the church and religious matters are, it is kind of exciting to learn that someone from your country gets to be Pope. But as an Argentine, I know this will boost our ego, and that can't be good.

I left the hotel to find my co-workers from Reuters TV to tell them the news and I ran into Patrick Watts, a Falkland Islands journalist. Patrick told me, "Well, you can't have the Falklands, but at least you got yourselves a Pope."

(Newly elected Pope Francis I, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, checks out of the church-run residence where he had been staying in Rome before his election. March 14, 2013,  REUTERS/Osservatore Romano)

The Vatican on Friday strongly denied accusations by some critics in Argentina that Pope Francis stayed silent during systematic human rights abuses by the former military dictatorship.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told reporters the accusations: “Must be clearly and firmly denied.” He added that, “They reveal anti-clerical left-wing elements that are used to attack the Church”.