A Latino Look at Pope Francis

By Anthony M. Stevens-Arroyo, Washington Post

Latin America is the demographic center of world-wide Catholicism and so it is fitting that the part of the world with the most Catholics – over 425 million – offers one of its own to lead the church. Francis is both “Jorge,” (Spanish for “George”) and “Bergoglio,” a name from his Italian immigrant parents. Like the title “Latin America,” his name resonates with two heritages: Europe and the New World. Some may see this hybridism as a defect because it cuts his heritage in half. However, others interpret our culture as richer because of the mixing: the Mexican José Vasconcelos even called it “cosmic.” The Spanish philosopher Ortega y Gasset agreed, admitting in his 1921 book, “España Invertebrada” that Latin America had surpassed Spain in faithfulness to its cultural identity. And that identity was Catholic from the start.

We Latinos and Latinas do not usually make the mistake of identifying “America” with “the United States.”

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