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           Cardinalul Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76 de ani , din Argentina, a fost ales  de  Biserica Catolică noul Papă miercuri seara.

     Mii de catolici s-au adunat sub umbrele în afara Bazilica Sf. Petru, asteptand cu nerabdare pentru pontifului bisericii 266th să iasă și să abordeze credincioși de la balcon.

  Noul  Papa il  va înlocui   pe   Papa Benedict al XVI-lea, a cărui demisie surpriză în ultima lună a determinat 115 cardinali romano-catolică a iniția un conclav, un sens sintagmei latine "cu o cheie", pentru a alege un nou lider pentru lume aproape 2 miliarde de catolici.
     Bergoglio va deveni primul papă din America Latină, o regiune a lumii cu 480 de milioane de catolici. El a câștigat   cu  două treimi necesarul    de  voturi, după doar două zile de conclav.

    Conclavul   a  avut  de  ales  dintre  mai  multi   candidați , inclusiv Cardinalul Peter Turkson Kodwo Appiah, care ar fi devenit primul papă din Africa, în timpurile moderne.

The new church leader takes over an organization many say is in crisis, from damaging allegations of internal squabbling to the cover-up and abetting of sexual abuse, though the latter issue came to light before Benedict's papacy.

Some sources say the Catholic Church in the U.S. has paid out as much as $3 billion to settle sexual abuse claims, though others estimate a billion less. At least eight U.S. Catholic dioceses declared bankruptcy protection. Benedict said in a 1998 U.S. visit that he was ashamed of the sex abuse scandal, and assured that the church would not allow pedophiles to become priests.

The Pope Emeritus also faced criticism for his role in overseeing the church's reaction to the sexual abuse crisis, as well as revelations from the "Vatileaks" incident. The pope's butler was implicated in the leaking of documents that included what Italian media first characterized as evidence of blackmail and disarray among church leaders regarding how to address growing concerns about money laundering.

Though Benedict basically dismissed those allegations as exaggerated, he remarked that the leaks and results of the ensuing investigation he commissioned had saddened him. Church outsiders have speculated that the results of Benedict's investigation may have led to his decision to resign from the papacy, a move unprecedented in six centuries.

The new pope will also face pressure to modernize the church on issues from reforming the clergy to allowing contraception. It's unclear if the cardinals will pick a pope who will change the church or a conservative leader who will remain dedicated to its current principals.