Vatican - "Francis was elected by an absolute majority of the present cardinals. And it is even possible to say, a significant majority of the cardinals," said Prague Archbishop Cardinal Dominik Duka in an interview with Czech online newspaper Aktualne.cz.
"It was all very fast," said Duka about the election. "I did not expect such an early and friendly agreement of the voting cardinals."
"He is the first Jesuit on the Papal throne, the first Argentine, the first American, and the first pope to choose the name Francis."
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By picking Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the cardinals accepted that "the Catholic Church is no longer a European, but a worldwide institution. The imaginary pendulum - for example in terms of the number of believers - has swung from Europe right towards Latin America."
"Francis is very relaxed and has a great sense of humor. His parents were Italian, after all," said Duka, adding though that Francis can also be unbending in his principles. Duka also said that Pope Francis reminds him of former Czechoslovak and Czech President Vaclav Havel.
According to Duka, Pope Francis will focus on the young generation, "because Latin America is demographically a very young continent, because the future of our planet lies on the shoulders of the young people."
