Mexican opinion mixed on new pope

MEXICO CITY, April 20 (UPI) -- Mexicans expressed mixed reactions concerning Pope Benedict XVI, the Dallas Morning News reported Wednesday.

Church analyst Bernardo Barranco said the choice of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is a bad one for Latin America, where 40 percent of Roman Catholics live, because he has not expressed much interest in the Third World.

"Of all the cardinals, he is one of the most distant from Latin America," said Barranco, vice president of the Center for Religious Studies in Mexico. "He is a very Eurocentric figure."

The paper found on the streets of Mexico City, Catholics were somewhat split with some providing favorable words for Benedict and others saying that had wished for someone more progressive.