Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi says worshipping such an icon is a degeneration of religion.

The Santa Muerte is a skeletal figure of a cloaked woman with a scythe in her bony hand. It is worshipped both by drug dealers in Mexico and by the terrified people who live in drug-torn neighborhoods.

Ravasi spoke Wednesday at a dialogue among believers and nonbelievers in Mexico City as part of the Vatican’s “Courtyard of the Gentiles.” The program was started in 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI, who said the Roman Catholic Church should hold such meetings so nonbelievers could get to know God.

It remains to be seen, however, whether this pope can reverse the decline in the number of Latino Catholics in the U.S.  Pope Francis is unlikely to be a reformer, and his social conservatism puts him at odds with most American Hispanics.  He arrives at the helm of the church at a time of crisis – and even his charisma may not be enough to bring Latinos back to the pews.

Although Latino Catholics are jubilant about Pope Francis’ election, the fact is that their numbers are declining in the U.S.  According to Gallup polling, between 2008 and 2012 the number of Hispanics who identify as Catholic fell from 58 to 54 percent.  Latinos are drifting away from the church, often to more welcoming protestant denominations which are not as bound by rules and tradition.

What’s more, Pope Francis does not share the values of most American Hispanics.  Many Latinos are quite liberal when it comes to the hot-button issues of abortion and same-sex marriage.  In contrast, in 2012 then-Cardinal Bergoglio spoke out against abortion, saying it was ”never the right choice.”  He has called same-sex marriage the work of the devil and a “destructive attack on God’s plan.”  He has defended the Vatican’s stance on celibacy, birth control, and the ordination of women.  So while there is much about Pope Francis that is new and exciting, at heart he is devoted to the traditional Catholic doctrine.

Then again, how could Pope Francis not be traditional?  He was elected by one of the most conservative, secretive organizations in the world. The conclave does not choose rebels.  Going against the grain of such a massive institution, in an official capacity, is virtually impossible.  But for these same reasons, it will be an uphill climb for Pope Francis to prove to American Hispanics that the church remains relevant to their daily lives.

Pope Francis has an admirable history of devotion to the poor.  He comes from the Jesuits, an order devoted to education and social justice.  In 2007, he told a group of Latin American bishops that income inequality is a “social sin,” and he has criticized church leaders for their “hypocrisy” in not being more involved in their communities.  Still, populist appeal has limits.  Consider that in the pope’s native Argentina, 76 percent of the population identifies as Catholic, yet only about 25 percent regularly attends mass.

There are steps that Pope Francis can take to engage Hispanic Catholics.  He can promote a more transparent church bureaucracy, by initiating policies to ensure that the abuse scandals and cover-ups are a thing of the past.  And as the son of immigrants, he can be a voice in support of immigration reform and in defense of the undocumented.  Such measures may not fill the pews on Sunday – but they will remind people that the church can be a powerful force for good.

Pope Francis has captured the attention of the world, and the hearts of millions of faithful Hispanic Catholics.  Yet he is constrained by the very institution that has chosen him as its spiritual leader.  Expecting him to lead a revival of Catholicism among U.S. Latinos may asking for a miracle that even he cannot perform.

Raul A. Reyes is an attorney and member of the USA Today Board of Contributors.

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, once Archbishop of Buenos Aires, took the name Pope Francis the first.

Francis is the first Pope from the Americas and the first Jesuit Pontiff.

Catholics all across the globe are ecstatic about the election of Pope Francis, the first Latin American Pope.

Among those looking forward to what’s ahead, are Latinos in Oregon.

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected pope Wednesday during the second day of the closed-door Vatican conclave. Bergoglio – a 76-year-old who will take the name Francis I — spoke to the roaring crowd from a balcony above the square.

After white smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel to indicate a pope had been elected, bells tolled at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels — site of an all-night prayer vigil Monday before the conclave of cardinals began the papal-selection process at the Vatican.

Gomez asked those in attendance at a mid-day Mass Wednesday to pray for the new pope, a Spanish speaker and the first pontiff from Latin America.

“It was a very pleasant surprise to see that the majority world is now represented,” said Juan Martinez, of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. “The reality is that half of all Catholics in the world are from Latin America. To have a pope from Latin America is a recognition of the reality that the growth of the church is in the south.”

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is home to the LA Archdiocese’s nearly 5 million members, some of whom passed under white-and-gold decorations Wednesday adorning the entrance. Latinos comprise an estimated 70 percent of Los Angeles Archdiocese members.

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Gomez opened the Mass by announcing a new pope had been elected, but did not identify him by name until later in the service, when the name was confirmed.

“It is a time for all of us to grow in our faith,” Archbishop Gomez told those gathered in the cathedral in downtown Los Angeles. “This is, as we know, the first time in history that a pope comes form the American continent. That really shows the importance of all of us in this continent as part of the church.”

Bergoglio, the Buenos Aires-born son of Italian immigrants, is a Jesuit who spent much of his career in Argentina. He gained a reputation as a leader who avoided the perks of high office, residing in a small apartment and riding a bus as archbishop in Buenos Aires.

He was a priest during Argentina’s military junta.

“The reality of living amongst the poor and those who suffered in the majority world gives him a very different perspective from the previous pope,” Martinez said. “It is an experience that is more common among the majority of Catholics.”

That experience will likely influence how “Francisco Primero” addresses issues that confront the Catholic Church, Martinez added. The new pope is considered conservative on social issues, but Martinez said he expects Bergoglio to “be conservative with a human face.”

“You can’t have lived a certain experience and not reflect it,” he said.

Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina was elected pope Wednesday. He became the first pontiff from the Americas and the first from outside Europe in more than a millennium.

He chose the name Francis, associating himself with the humble 13th-century Italian preacher who lived a life of poverty.

“I’m really excited to be at the Cathedral here to be able to witness the election of a new pope,” Raymond Ogbemure, a priest from Richmond said. “This is certainly a very happy and historic day for the Catholic Church.

San Francisco’s Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said he was overcome with feelings of joy and peace at the election of Pope Francis.

Cordileon said the Bay Area shares a special connection with the new pope. He noted that the new pontiff took his name from St. Francis of Assisi, which is also San Francisco’s namesake.

San Francisco’s former Archbishop Cardinal William Levada was also one of 115 cardinals who selected the pope.

“He would have brought the perspective of the church here and the people here in the Bay Area,” Cordileon said.

Bay Area Catholics say their prayers are with Pope Francis.

“Let’s hope we can have some changes and the American Catholic church is very different from the rest of the world so I think it’s quite important everyone be listened to,” St Mary’s Parishioner Virginia Baldelli said.

“For Latino Catholics we see it as a triumph the first reaction is triumph but as I told you before with the triumph comes the cross,” St Mary’s parishioner Gustavo Calderon added.

Father Arthur Leibscher of Santa Clara University says when he heard the name of the new pope Wednesday morning he couldn’t believe it.

Father Leibscher knows Pope Francis. He says he is a quiet and humble man. The two spent a few weeks together outside of Buenes Aires in the late 1980s when the pope was still a “padre.”

Pope Francis is known for his deep prayer, his kindess and his commitment to the poor.

“He’s famous for moving out of the (Episcopal) housing there in Buenos Aires. He lives in a small apartment there. He takes the subway to work. He will stop and talk to people on the subway. He lived as he grew up, which was as an ordinary citizen of Buenos Aires,” Leibscher S.J. said.

Father Leibscher said he can understand why the cardinals selected him, adding he is a man who will stand by his convictions and his teachings no  matter what.

Pope Francis is the longtime archbishop of Buenos Aires. He is the son of middle-class Italian immigrants and is known as a humble man who denied himself the luxuries that previous Buenos Aires cardinals enjoyed.

Not only did he take public transportation to work, he cooked his own meals and regularly visited the slums that ring Argentina’s capital. He considers social outreach, rather than doctrinal battles, to be the essential business of the church.

Latin Americans burst into tears and jubilation at news that the region, which counts 40 percent of the world’s Catholics, finally had a pope to call its own.

“It’s a huge gift for all of Latin America. We waited 20 centuries. It was worth the wait,” said Jose Antonio Cruz, a Franciscan friar at the St. Francis of Assisi church in the colonial Old San Juan district in Puerto Rico.

At a Las Vegas Argentinian restaurant, some Argentinians said they were shocked to learn a cardinal from their own country was chosen to be pope. They expected the new pope to come from Europe, since that’s the way it’s been for more than 1,000 years.

But news one of their own now leads the Catholic Church has them pumped up and full of pride.

“It feels so good, I feel so proud pope is from Argentina,” said Hugo Patti, owner of the Las Vegas restaurant El Rincon de Buenos Aires.

Not only does this mean a lot to Argentinians, but it means a lot for the Latin American community.

“I can’t believe it,” said Mirta Chomley, a native Argentinian living in Las Vegas. “I’m still freaking out.  I’m so happy.”

Some say choosing a pope from South America serves as somewhat of a nod to all Latin Americans, who make up 40 percent of the world’s Catholics.

People from all over the city gathered at the church for the 6 o’clock mass.  Father Dennis Garcia talked about how much this selection means for the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis is the first to take that name, the first from Latin America, and the first Jesuit pope.

“This is the new world, we have a new pope now from the new world,” Father Dennis Garcia said.

Pope Francis took the name from Saint Francis of Assisi, who was known for living a life of poverty.  Father Andy Pavlak from San Miguel Catholic Church in Socorro said that shows Pope Francis I will likely make a lot of his decisions for the church based on his focus on helping the poor.

“He took the name of Francis, so he’s going to take that Franciscan humility and the poverty of what being a religious order is all about into play…possibly reorganizing the Curia which has been hoped for some time,” Pavlak said.

Brazil and its neighbor Argentina are bitter rivals in just about everything.

But now, in the realm of religion at least, Argentina has supremely passed the giant next door.

The Wednesday election of Pope Francis, formerly known as Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, put the country a step ahead of Brazil when it comes to holy matters.

The dagger in Brazil’s heart? The fact that for a week leading up to the conclave at the Vatican where the globe’s cardinals gathered to choose the pontiff, Brazilian Cardinal Odilo Scherer was touted as a front-runner.

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Despite that, most Brazilians said that it was great the new pope was Latin American, even if — gulp! —he’s coming from its biggest regional rival.

“We can’t question such a decision, even if we have a strong rivalry between Brazil and Argentina,” said Suelen Roos, a waitress at the Quincas cafe in Toledo, where Scherer was raised. “This isn’t soccer, after all. We can’t think like soccer hooligans, we must think like good Christians.”

More Catholics live in Brazil than any other nation. The 124 million Catholics in Brazil is a figure three times larger than Argentina’s entire population.

Scherer’s brother Bruno, moments after the new pope was revealed to not be his brother, sat quietly by himself in a plaza behind the main church in the Scherer family’s small hometown of Toledo in southern Brazil, just 60 miles from the Argentine border.

“I’m really just happy for the church that it’s not another European,” he said. “The fact that he’s a Latin American is already a big step in the right direction.”

In Sao Paulo, where Odilo Scherer serves as archbishop, his right-hand clergyman Edmar Peron, the auxiliary bishop, said the choice for the new pope was a surprise.

“I had never heard of him. I was not frustrated that Dom Odilo was not elected and I felt a certain tranquility when I learned that the new pope is an Argentine,” he said. “Of course, Brazilian Catholics dreamed of having a pope who was born here.”

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