Vatican City (CNN) -- Pope Francis on Thursday emphasized church advancement in his first Mass with the cardinals who elected him pontiff a day earlier.
With
solemnity, he delivered a homily about moving the Catholic Church forward to
the cardinal electors, who were dressed in light yellow robes. Altar servers
burned incense in the Sistine Chapel, the setting for the Mass.
Speaking
in Italian, Francis didn't use a script and kept the sermon short, calling on
the cardinals to have courage.
"When
we don't walk, we are stuck. When we don't build on the rock, what happens?
It's what happens to children when they build a sand castle and it all then
falls down," the new pontiff said.
"When we walk without the
cross, when we build without the cross and when we confess without the cross,
we are not disciples of Christ. We are mundane," he said. "We are all
but disciples of our Lord.
"I
would like for all of us, after these days of grace, that we find courage to
walk in the presence of God ... and to build the church with the blood of
Christ," the pope continued. "Only this way will the church move
forward."
During
the service, the cardinals prayed for the new pope and Pope Emeritus Benedict
XVI so "that he may serve the Church while hidden to the world, in a life
dedicated to prayer and meditation," the Vatican said.
When
Jorge Bergoglio stepped onto the balcony at the Vatican on Wednesday evening to
reveal himself as the new leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, he made
history as the first non-European pope of the modern era, the first from Latin
America, the first Jesuit and the first to assume the name Francis.
Francis
began Thursday by praying at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, a
place of special significance for the Jesuits.
His
next public appearance is likely to be Sunday. The new pontiff will "very
probably" celebrate Mass at St. Peter's and then deliver the traditional
Angelus blessing, said the Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman.
But
it won't be until Tuesday that Francis will be formally installed as pope.
That's
by design. The day coincides with the Feast of St. Joseph, the patron saint of
Italy.
In
a letter dated Wednesday to Rome's chief rabbi, the new pope promised
"renovated cooperation" between Catholics and Jews.
"I
vividly hope I'll contribute to the progress" of relations between Jewish
and Catholic people that they "have known starting from the Vatican II
Council" in the 1960s, Francis wrote to Riccardo Di Segni.
The
new pope said he was also acting in a spirit of "helping the world to be
always more in harmony with the will of the Creator."
The
new pontiff will meet with all the cardinals, not just those who were eligible
to vote for him, on Friday and will hold an audience with the media on
Saturday, Lombardi said.
Already,
a picture is emerging of a humble man who shies away from the trappings of his
new status and is devoted to his pastoral duties.
As
pope, Francis will have plenty to deal with. He takes the helm of a Roman
Catholic Church that has been rocked in recent years by sex abuse by priests,
and claims of corruption and infighting among the church hierarchy.
Reflecting
the urgency of those concerns, a group representing the alleged victims of
sexual abuse by priests has written an open letter to Francis requesting a
meeting.
"Your
predecessor met only a few times with a few carefully chosen victims in tightly
choreographed settings, as he visited nations where this crisis had reached a
fever pitch," the letter from the Survivors Network of those Abused by
Priests states.
"We
write today seeking a different kind of meeting -- one in which our respective
organizations -- yours, huge and struggling, and ours, small and struggling --
can begin to work together to safeguard children across the globe."
Meanwhile,
in Los Angeles, one alleged victim of priest sex abuse, Michael Duran, urged
Pope Francis to give Catholics new hope and make priests and cardinals
accountable for their actions in cases where children have been sexually abused
by clergymen.
Duran
said he was sexually abused for three years by a Los Angeles Archdiocese priest
beginning in 1983, when Duran was 11.
He
and three other men allegedly sexually abused as boys by the same priest
settled their lawsuits for $9.9 million against the archdiocese, Cardinal Roger
Mahony and the now defrocked priest. Mahony was among the 115 cardinals in Rome
who participated in the papal election this week.
Duran
said he felt vindicated by the settlement. He and his attorney said authorities
should investigate Mahony for his handling of child abuse complaints against
the former priest, Michael Baker. The priest, who couldn't be reached for
comment, served a prison sentence for molesting boys, Duran's attorneys said.
Conservative reformer
The
76-year-old leader, who served as the archbishop of Buenos Aires, is the first
pope to take the name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, revered among
Catholics for his work with the poor.
The
pontiff is a follower of the church's most social conservative wing. As a
cardinal, he clashed with the government of Argentine President Cristina
Fernandez de Kirchner over his opposition to gay marriage and free distribution
of contraceptives.
He
was runner-up in the 2005 papal conclave, behind then-Cardinal Joseph
Ratzinger.
The
new pope brings together the first and the developing worlds. Latin America is
home to 480 million Catholics.
Francis'
first public appearance as pope -- when he appealed for the crowds to pray for
him before he gave a blessing -- suggested a "different pastoral
style" in comparison with the more academic approach of Benedict, said
Lombardi.
Francis
is someone who has had "a day-to-day link with the population and ordinary
people" during his many years at the head of a large diocese in Buenos
Aires, he said.
He
also sought to dampen concerns prompted by media reports that the new pope has
only one lung.
Although
Francis had part of one lung removed when he was a young man, the whole lung
was not removed and the new pope is in good health, Lombardi said.
CNN iReporter Cesar Sotolongo in Lima, Peru, said the
election of a Latin American pope, particularly from the Jesuit order, marked
"a new chapter" for the Catholic Church.
Originally
from Florida, Sotolongo also has his own advice for Francis: "The pope
should shape the church with what he has been doing during his career (as an
example)," he said. "Stay in contact with the people, communicate
clearly, promote the unification of faith and ... represent the word of
Jesus."
A Jesuit pope
Born
in Buenos Aires to an Italian immigrant father, Francis is known for his simplicity.
Details
given by Lombardi on Thursday of Francis' first hours as pope reinforce that
impression -- one which may go down well with his global flock, many of whom
live in poverty or are feeling the squeeze of austerity.
Francis
stood, rather than sitting on a throne, to receive the oath of allegiance from
his fellow cardinals after his election, and for his appearance on the balcony
wore just a white cassock and a simple cross, eschewing gold or jewels,
Lombardi said.
Also,
on the ride back from the Sistine Chapel to the Santa Marta residence, he
declined the papal car that had been prepared for him and instead took the bus
with other cardinals, Lombardi said.
And
Francis thanked the other cardinals at dinner, joking, "May God forgive
you for what you have done," Lombardi said.
Francis
will remove the seals from the official papal apartments Thursday but will not
move in until renovations are complete, he added. The new pontiff will live in
a suite at the Santa Marta residence until the papal apartments are ready.
In
Buenos Aires, Francis chose to live in an apartment rather than the
archbishop's palace, passed on a chauffeured limousine, took the bus to work
and cooked his own meals.
He
was ordained by the Jesuits in 1969. He became co-archbishop of Buenos Aires in
1997 and sole archbishop of that city one year later.
He
was made a cardinal in 2001 and served as president of the Argentine bishops
conference from 2005 to 2011.
As
a Jesuit, Francis is a member of the Society of Jesus, one of the biggest and
most important orders in the church.
Jesuits
are recognized for their exceptional educational institutions and focus on
social justice.
"Jesuits
are characterized by their service to the church ... but trying to avoid
positions of power," said Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, who is also a
Jesuit. "I am absolutely convinced that we have a pope who wants to serve.
"His
election was the election of a rejection of power."
'Most stunning' choice of name
His
selection of the name of Pope Francis is "the most stunning" choice
and "precedent shattering," CNN Vatican analyst John Allen said.
"The new pope is sending a signal that this will not be business as
usual."
The
name symbolizes "poverty, humility, simplicity and rebuilding the Catholic
Church," Allen said.
Miguel
Diaz, a former U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, agreed, calling the new
pontiff's choice of names "very significant."
"Francis
of Assisi is the saint who opted for the little ones in God's kingdom," he
said. "This man represents a change and could potentially be a great gift
for leadership, servant leadership, for all of us within the church and
society."
It
is something the Catholic Church says it desperately needs.
"If
you look back over the past years -- the crisis of abuse, the scandals here at
the Vatican, financial mismanagement, questions about the leaks and everything
-- when you step back from it all, every crisis we faced ultimately is a crisis
of holiness that we've missed the calling," said the Rev. Thomas Rosica,
the Vatican's deputy spokesman.
"We've
moved far away from what we're supposed to be."
World reacts
Word
of the election of Pope Francis, who was not considered a frontrunner among
analysts, quickly spread around the globe, with everyone from U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to U.S. President Barack Obama offering
congratulations.
"As
the first pope from the Americas, his selection also speaks to the strength and
vitality of a region that is increasingly shaping our world, and alongside
millions of Hispanic Americans, those of us in the United States share the joy
of this historic day," Obama said.
Ban
said the new pope shares common goals with the United Nations, from the
promotion of peace to social justice. "We also share the conviction that
we can only resolve the interconnected challenges of today's world through
dialogue," he said.
There
is likely to be no shortage of invitations for Pope Francis to travel to the
four corners of the globe in the pursuit of such goals.
Syria's
Patriarch Gregory III Laham of Antioch, who heads the Melkite Greek Catholic
Church, on Thursday invited Francis to visit Syria, Jerusalem and Lebanon for
peace and reconciliation, according to Syria's official news agency.
Israeli
President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also
urged him to visit the Middle East.
"He'll
be a welcome guest in the Holy Land, as a man of inspiration that can add to
the attempt to bring peace in a stormy area," said Peres.
Nowhere
was the reaction to Francis' selection as pope more heartfelt than in Latin
America.
"I
am truly still very surprised ... not just that a Latino pope came out, but
that he is an Argentinian from Buenos Aires," the Rev. Eduardo
Mangiarotti, an Argentine priest, told CNN en Español.
It's
a "huge event" not only for the church in Latin America but
worldwide, he said.
Cardinal
Theodore McCarrick, archbishop emeritus of Washington, greeted the selection
with "extraordinary joy."
"I
have been hoping that we would move into the Southern Hemisphere, and
especially I think many of us had hoped ... we would have a pope who would come
from Latin America," he said.
"One-half
of the Catholics in the world are from Latin America, so this is a way the
cardinals have very graciously acknowledged that."
Filipino
priest and CNN iReporter Joel Camaya was among the tens of thousands who witnessed
history Wednesday night in St. Peter's Square, as Francis emerged on the
balcony.
"The
multitude, from all parts of the world, were ecstatic to be in the square for
this beautiful occasion," he said. "This was one event that left me
teary-eyed and thanking God for making me a Catholic.
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