“I know that you’re praying and making prayers, I need them very much,” he added.Francis asked the people to care for each other and that there should be no hate, conflicts or jealousy.And, finally: “Don’t forget that this bishop who is far away loves you very much. Pray for me,” he concluded. “Thank you Bergoglio. Welcome to the Pope!” many shouted. “Viva Argentina, viva el Papa, viva la Iglesia!”Watching on four huge screens set up outside the plaza’s Metropolitan Cathedral, Read more [...]

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The election of Pope Francis has thrilled Jewish leaders in Argentina, who predict that their friend will continue to foster warm relations and open dialogue between Catholicism and other faiths during his pontificate. They’ve seen it firsthand as recently as December, when then-Buenos Aires Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio lit the first candle on the menorah at Temple NCI-Emanu El during a Hanukkah ceremony. ‘‘He’s got a very deep capacity for dialogue with Read more [...]

Pope Francis thrilled tens of thousands of people today gathered for his installation Mass, taking a long round-about through St Peter's Square and getting out of his jeep to bless a disabled man in a wheelchair in the crowd.The blue and white flags from Francis' native Argentina fluttered above the crowd that Italian media estimate could reach 1 million. Civil protection crews closed the main streets leading to the square to traffic and set up barricades for nearly two kilometres along the route Read more [...]

Vatican City: Pope Francis swept into St Peter's Square on Tuesday to greet throngs of pilgrims before a sumptuous ceremony in which Latin America's first pontiff will receive the formal symbols of papal power.Wearing his papal whites and standing in middle of an open-topped vehicle, the pope waved, smiled and gave the thumbs-up to the ecstatic crowds in the sun-drenched square.The crowds had begun gathering from the early morning for a ceremony laden with centuries-old rituals and lavish Read more [...]

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis’ diplomatic skills were tested Monday as his political nemesis, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, asked him to intervene in the dispute with Britain over the Falkland Islands. There was no immediate comment from the Vatican as to whether the Argentine-born Francis would accept her request, which was made during his inaugural audience with a visiting head of state on the eve of his installation as pope. Francis and Fernandez are longtime rivals: As leader of Argentina’s Read more [...]

Pope Francis holds a traditional calabash gourd used to drink Mate, which was given to him as a present from President Cristina Kirchner yesterday. Photograph: Argentine Presidency via New York Times

(BUENOS AIRES, Argentina) — Argentina’s government on Monday accused the British banking giant HSBC of facilitating money laundering and tax evasion. Tax chief Ricardo Echegaray said HSBC’s Argentina subsidiary created an illegal scheme enabling its clients to hide more than $100 million. He said the scheme included a criminal organization and fake receipts used to launder money for various companies. HSBC’s Latin America spokeswoman, Lyssette Bravo, issued a statement that did not deny Read more [...]

The two met for 15 minutes of private conversation before having lunch together, the Vatican said. It did not issue a statement, but in a news conference later in Rome, Mrs. Kirchner said she had found the pope, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, “calm, confident and at peace, tranquil.” “I could also say that he is occupied and concerned about the immense task not only to govern Vatican City State, but to change things that he knows need to change,” she Read more [...]

VATICAN CITY: Argentine President Cristina Kirchner on Monday asked compatriot Pope Francis to mediate in the Falkland Islands' dispute with Britain at the new pontiff's first talks with a head of state, as world leaders flew in for his inauguration mass. "I asked his intervention to promote dialogue between the two sides," Kirchner told reporters after meeting Latin America's first pope in the Vatican, warning against a growing "militarisation" in the South Atlantic. Kirchner noted that Read more [...]

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