Does being the first Jesuit, South American Pope mean big change in the church?

>>> with a new pope there's a lot to talk about in the future of the church. he is the pope of firsts. the first from the americas, the first jesuit, the first named francis . will he really change anything? well, let's spin on it. my take, guys, and i wrote about this today, for the blaze, is that his election signals as father martin indicated, sort of an enduring influence of latinos on the church. this is a moment. a shift. as father said, toward the southern hemisphere . and i think what it could do for hispanic catholics here in america is inject this deeply get personalized sense of pride in their faithful and it could renew a sense of vigor in their own catholicism. and especially for a people that oftentimes feels like they are on the outside. both in their country and in their church, this feels very sort of inclusive. like we are being recognized. we are, we feel special. and i think that could have really interesting effects. if you look at the demographics of hispanic catholics , new research is finding that as they a simulate more into american culture , they become less staunk on social issues. they become more liberal, religiously speaking. they become less pro-life, for example. and i think pope francis will have a really interesting effect on that of it will be interesting to watch whether, because he is so staunchly conservative on social issues, like abortion and gay marriage , will he pull those hispanic catholics toward his center of gravity . be a tuning fork for that group and be back toward traditional orthodoxy, or will he sound increasingly anachronistic for the people moving away and to the left and create a bigger chasm. i think that would be really, really interesting to watch.

>> i think that it is a bit of a red herring to talk about how staunchly conservative francis on social issues because every single poem for the next 1,500 years will be staunchly conservative. it come with the job at this point. i'm interest in the politics. i think that the rise of the latino vote, so many being catholic. i'm interested in how this will affect the politics. it has been the dream to facilitate catholics . the middle of the last decade they talk about latinos , them part of it, too. we'll do immigration reform . that didn't work out. we'll really appeal to catholics . this was the idea, that's how we can make latinos a big part of the republican party 's future. what we saw in the 2012 election was immigration is one issue that did not help republicans with latinos . there's a lot of research out there now about the attitudes on policy questions of latino voters in this country. and they are much more liberal on economic questions, questions about the role of government, questions about taxation. about the safety net than where the republican party is. so to me, the social conservativism says every pope will do that. if you now have a pope that has a connection with the la scene over voters in the country that is putting a new emfast miss we haven't seen from the vatican on social issues, i think it can reinforce the other shoes.

>> and hispanics and catholics are two demographics that have grown.

>> i'm a little awed at the continuing rise of, in global power of hispanics and latinos . not only is jorge from the pope but the richest man in the world is carlos slim . and we saw the impact the hispanic community is having on the election, and the previous elections as well. it is interesting to see these people rising in global power . i want to speak a little to why i, maybe some of you guys found this. i'm not catholic. i'm not even that religious. you're atheist but fully interested in this situation. a couple things that i came up with. the pomp and circumstance of the catholic church rivals even greater than hollywood. that sort of draws you in. the long history and tradition of this process. he is the 226th, is that right? they've had tons and tons of popes now. the global reach of the pope is interesting. just seeing people who really believe in something, the leaders and the followers. that's very exciting.

>> it is. compelling.

>> to that point, my husband is actually in the country of colombia right now. obviously not argentina. but i called him to see what the reaction on the street was.

>> there he is.

>> hey!

>> he can be a little bit oblivious. what happened? then he call me back five minutes later. oh, life has come to a standstill. people are out on the streets celebrating. i just thought that's what they did in colombia on wednesdays. going back to this argument allergy it be the more socially conservative views that pull the latinos in this direction, there is some research from a behavioral economist at duke university that may tie into this. he said basically, once people feel like they're cheating on a particular issue, then there is a rt sof slippery slope . they already feel like they're being bad so they will be increasingly bad. and i think because the church has staked out such an absolute position on things like birth control where frankly, most catholics cheat. that it makes the less, the rest of their mention on social issues less compelling and less sticky. people feel like they're already being bad there. so to that extent, i think that's why you're seeing latinos focusing more on that social justice mention. because it is an area where they feel like they're good and where they can be good.

>> one thing, listening a minute ago. this idea of noncatholics being interested in this. people not that interested being interested. jerry brown , one of the most fascinating politicians i've ever covered. a former jesuit from california. he said, i doubt the theology but i love the history. that's his relationship with the church.

>> going to catholic school for some years, even as an atheist. it is cool to be around people who care that much. all the rituals and the ceremony. exciting stuff. we all want to know how you think the new pope will change the church if he can. kendall cruthers writes, at first glance he does seem to have what it takes to draw people of all faiths in, to at least think about religion as it pertains to their lives. as always, we want to hear what you think. make "the cycle" your religion.

>> why not?

>>> straight ahead? it's a miracle? republicans applauded the president during day two of his fiscal field trip to capitol hill ? so what will day three bring? we've got lots of outspoken folks. bernie sanders in the guest spot next. [