Vatican City, Mar 16 (IANS/AKI): Pope Francis has called for "new methods of evangelisation", and urged Catholic cardinals to unite and to be "courageous".
Addressing cardinals at the Vatican's Clementine Hall Friday, Pope Francis said: "We need new methods of evangelisation. We need courage - the courage to seek new ways of evangelising."
Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope Francis reportedly with more than 90 votes out of 115.
"Every one of us should strengthen unity and perservere in our prayers with the beautiful sentiments of faith and ecclesiatical communion that we experienced during the conclave," the Pope said.
Catholicism has been losing ground evangelical churches in Latin America in recent years.
According to observers, this was one of the reasons for Bergoglio's appointment as Pope along with a desire in the wider Catholic Church to reform the Vatican government.