With apologies to Gertrude Stein - the poop is a snake-oil salesman, is a snake-oil salesman, is a snake-oil salesman ............. is a snake-oil salesman

Apparently no one has ever bothered to notice the simple immutable fact that Jesus of Galilee was never ever in any sense a Christian, nor did he found the religion about him, namely Christian-ISM as a power-and-control seeking would be world conquering political "religion". All of which was founded by others after his brutal murder. None of whom ever met Jesus up close and personal in a living-breathing-feeling human form.

Jesus most certainly could not have created any of the "death & resurrection" nonsense that became the centre-pole of Christian dogma. Corpses are incapable of creating anything - hasnt anyone noticed this obvious immutable fact!

Jesus was always and only a Jew, as were all of his disciples and those who associated with him while he was alive.

"They knew the man the Holy Spirit wanted."

If you say so, Alex...

I can't help but think that a lot of the historical issues and dilemmas for, and caused by, the Catholic Church would have been avoided if Jesus - who had no reason to go away, nor physical limitations - had not turned his back on his church two millennia ago.

Could have avoided a lot of problems for a lot of people and not required any enclaves or the hassles from those occasions when the cardinals did not know "the man the Holy Spirit wanted."

Thank you Alex for a reflective and positive article. I agree with you that the election of Pope Francis is one that brings much hope and encouragement to those of us who would like to see our Church reflecting more strongly the humility, love, service and compassion taught and modelled by Jesus. It is that which I believe will strengthen its capacity to provide a more valid moral and ethical leadership in our world.

Hi Alex.

Not sure, though.

If "the most obvious and simple choice for the cardinals was chosen" and "They knew the man the Holy Spirit wanted", why did it take five rounds of voting?

Thanks, AA

Alan Austin, mock not the Holy Spirit unless you want to be turned into a pillar of salt!

Now salt is bad for you, lifts your blood pressure, throws you into the clutches of Big Pharma!

There is only one thing worse than Big Pharma! That's Americans promising democracy. Look at Iraq if you want to see how the American solution works.

The world is being conned! The U.S. is the biggest 'conner'. It kills billions while it talks constantly about peace and fills the world with armaments.

Julia, take note! Sorry, Kevin take notice!

No-one wants to rain on the new Pope's parade, but the cause of truth is not really served by the kind of sycophantic eulogy served up in this article.

In 2005 criminal suits were brought against the now Pope when he was the "Provincial" i.e. head, of the Jesuit Order in Argentine. The charges accused him of conspiring with the military junta led by General Videla in the kidnapping of two Jesuit priests, practitioners of so-called liberation theology. The now Pope avoided giving an account of himself until 2010 when his answers were at best vague.

Videla, now serving a life sentence, said that he regularly consulted with the church hierarchy about the "dirty war" his junta was waging against left wing activists. That hierarch of course included the new Pope. Videla said that the Church gave him advice about how to deal with the situation.

A minimum of 22,000 people were murdered or "disappeared" during the regimes reign. A trial is still going on about Operation Condor in Argentina (the American organised and orchestrated policy of killing left wing activists who threatened American interests throughout Latin America).

No real evidence of the Holy spirit at work during those years.