David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

For me, there is only one story today, namely, the election of Pope Francis. I share the happiness of my Roman Catholic friends at this extraordinary event. I stated a few days ago that the Holy Spirit would need to be very alert to find somebody among the current collection of cardinals, all of whom were nominated by the previous two Popes. However, the Holy Spirit seems to have done so. The moment Pope Francis came out on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica something happened. One could tell this even before he opened his mouth. His demeanour immediately reminded me of the last truly great Pope, John XXIII. I think there is something of Pope John XXIII about this man, for example, his simplicity of dress. I noticed that when one of his assistants tried to put the stole back on him he pushed it away. He also uses public transport and visited people in the slums. As the greatest leader of all the Christian churches, he showed humility when he knelt down and the silence that subsequently spread through the crowd was very impressive as it is almost impossible to get silence among such an enormous group of people. He commanded such respect and I believe he will continue to do so. He also asked for prayers and certainly has mine.

I did not sign the motion requesting the previous Pope, who is now known as Pope Emeritus, to visit Ireland but I would gladly sign a similar motion for this Pope. I know he is against gay marriage but we forget sometimes what extraordinary progress we have made in certain areas and how uncomfortable it is for people of a certain age to have to deal with these dramatic changes. I believe he is a man who will learn and he has indicated dialogue is taking place and he has opened dialogue, not only with his flock in Rome but with people all over the world. One sign of this was the wonderful and refreshing sound of the so-called dissident priests singing like 24 blackbirds baked in a pie on the airwaves today.

While the Pope may be against gay marriage, he visited hospitals in Buenos Aires at a very difficult time and embraced, kissed and washed the feet of 12 AIDS patients. There is a simple beauty in that gesture. He chose the name "Francis" after Francis of Assisi who disagreed with the Pope when he declared that irrespective of what the Pope said, animals had souls. There is something wonderful about St. Francis. When I was involved in the running of the Hirschfeld centre, the gay community centre which had facilities including a cinema and restaurant, the most popular film was "Brother Son, Sister Moon", which is about St. Francis of Assisi. Among the wounded people of the gay community who have been regularly sprayed with acid from the Vatican at Christmas in recent years, the election of Pope Francis means a new beginning for all of us. This man has given hope to a world that badly needs it.