Statement by Ralph Reed, Chairman of Faith and Freedom Coalition, on the Selection of Pope Francis

“It is with great joy and anticipation that we join in celebrating the selection of Jorge Maria Bergoglio of Argentina as the new Pope. As the first non-European to hold the papacy in a millennium and the first pope from the Americas, our prayer is that he can reshape the future of Latin America as dramatically as Pope John Paul II did central and eastern Europe during the Cold War. Bergoglio’s selection of St. Francis of Assisi’s name honors one of the greatest spiritual leaders in human history. As an evangelical I join my Catholic brothers and sisters today in joyously proclaiming, “Habemus Papam!””