Acton Institute's Rev. Robert A. Sirico Comments on the Election of Pope Francis

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. and ROME -- With the election of Pope Francis, the Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Rev. Robert A. Sirico released the following statement.

"Pope Francis is a man of great spirituality who is known for his commitment to doctrinal orthodoxy as well as for his simplicity of life," Rev. Sirico said. "Like Benedict XVI, he combines concern for the poor with an insistence that it's not the Church's responsibility to be a political actor or to prescribe precise solutions to economic problems. In that regard, he's a model for all Catholic bishops and clergy throughout the world."

The Acton Institute has three Vatican experts in Rome for the papal conclave, including Rev. Sirico.

All three are experts on global Catholic social and economic issues, and have been doing broadcast and print commentary during the 2013 conclave. All can talk about the challenges that Pope Francis will face as he begins his papacy.

Acton's print and broadcast commentary on the conclave and the election of Pope Francis is being aggregated on a special resource page: http://www.acton.org/press/special/2013-papal-conclave

The Acton experts in Rome this week:

Rev. Robert A. Sirico, Acton president and co-founder
Bio: http://www.acton.org/about/staff/rev-robert-sirico

Rev. Sirico was the on-air analyst at the 2005 papal conclave for BBC America. He also was called on by Fox News, EWTN and other radio and TV outlets. The Washington Post featured him in a live chat one day after Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected to succeed Pope John Paul II: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1717-2005Apr19.html

Kishore Jayabalan, director of Acton Rome office
Bio: http://www.acton.org/about/staff/kishore-jayabalan

Jayabalan, a former Vatican official, handled on-air analysis for BBC World News covering Pope Benedict's last day. At the 2005 Conclave, he was called on by CNN International, BBC, Channel News Asia and Fox News.

Samuel Gregg, Acton director of research
http://www.acton.org/about/staff/samuel-gregg

Gregg is the author of, among other books, The Modern Papacy (Bloomsbury Academic, 2009) and a new book: Becoming Europe: Economic Decline, Culture, and How America Can Avoid a European Future (Encounter, 2013). Becoming Europe is especially strong on many of the cultural issues that Pope Francis will have to tackle, including secularism, interfaith relations and the changing demographics of the Catholic Church.

Contact, in Rome:

Michael Severance
[e-mail]
Istituto Acton Italia
Corso Vittorio Emanuele II
No. 294
00186 Roma, ITALY
Tel: [phone]

Contact, in Grand Rapids:

John Couretas
[e-mail]
[phone]
[phone], cell

/PRNewswire-USNewswire -- March 13, 2013 /

SOURCE Acton Institute