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| Pope Francis Lands in Ecuador on 3-Nation Tour of Latin America | |
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| QUITO, Ecuador — Met by indigenous children in traditional garb and a stiff Andean wind that blew the white skullcap off his head as he emerged from his airplane, Pope Francis arrived here on Sunday to start a three-nation tour that will take him to some of the poorest and yet most environmentally rich countries of his native continent. | QUITO, Ecuador — Met by indigenous children in traditional garb and a stiff Andean wind that blew the white skullcap off his head as he emerged from his airplane, Pope Francis arrived here on Sunday to start a three-nation tour that will take him to some of the poorest and yet most environmentally rich countries of his native continent. |
| “I give thanks to God for having allowed me to return to Latin America,” he said after being greeted on the tarmac with a hug by President Rafael Correa. | “I give thanks to God for having allowed me to return to Latin America,” he said after being greeted on the tarmac with a hug by President Rafael Correa. |
| The first pope from Latin America, Francis later drove through the streets of Quito, the capital, standing in the back of a white car with open sides. Thousands of enthusiastic followers packed the route, throwing flower petals, locally made Panama hats and other items at him. At one point a person ran up to the car and held up a small child dressed in white, and the pope reached out to touch the child on the head. The Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, estimated the crowd at 500,000. | The first pope from Latin America, Francis later drove through the streets of Quito, the capital, standing in the back of a white car with open sides. Thousands of enthusiastic followers packed the route, throwing flower petals, locally made Panama hats and other items at him. At one point a person ran up to the car and held up a small child dressed in white, and the pope reached out to touch the child on the head. The Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, estimated the crowd at 500,000. |
| Francis brings his message of a church in transformation to a region that contains nearly four out of 10 of the world’s Roman Catholics, but that has seen many faithful leave in recent years to join Protestant denominations or abandon organized religion altogether. | Francis brings his message of a church in transformation to a region that contains nearly four out of 10 of the world’s Roman Catholics, but that has seen many faithful leave in recent years to join Protestant denominations or abandon organized religion altogether. |
| “My heart is beating faster and faster,” said Filiberto Rojas, 38, a Colombian businessman who flew to Quito on Saturday and set up a small tent outside the park where Francis is to preside over a huge open-air Mass on Tuesday. The faithful will not be allowed into the park until Monday afternoon, but Mr. Rojas said the wait was worth it: “We haven’t had a pope like this in a long time, a humble pope, a pope of the poor, a pope of the people.” | “My heart is beating faster and faster,” said Filiberto Rojas, 38, a Colombian businessman who flew to Quito on Saturday and set up a small tent outside the park where Francis is to preside over a huge open-air Mass on Tuesday. The faithful will not be allowed into the park until Monday afternoon, but Mr. Rojas said the wait was worth it: “We haven’t had a pope like this in a long time, a humble pope, a pope of the poor, a pope of the people.” |
| Francis comes to Ecuador shortly after releasing a landmark encyclical on the environment. In it he exhorted the world to take prompt action to halt potentially catastrophic climate change and ecological degradation, which he warned were partly caused by unchecked economic development and a culture of consumerism. | Francis comes to Ecuador shortly after releasing a landmark encyclical on the environment. In it he exhorted the world to take prompt action to halt potentially catastrophic climate change and ecological degradation, which he warned were partly caused by unchecked economic development and a culture of consumerism. |
| He is expected to return to those themes in Ecuador, a country of great biological and environmental diversity, with the Amazon rain forest, the Andes Mountains and the Galápagos Islands. It is also a place that is highly sensitive to the conflicts between economic growth and environmental protection. | He is expected to return to those themes in Ecuador, a country of great biological and environmental diversity, with the Amazon rain forest, the Andes Mountains and the Galápagos Islands. It is also a place that is highly sensitive to the conflicts between economic growth and environmental protection. |
| Mr. Correa has vowed to open a previously protected section of remote Amazon jungle to oil exploration, over the fierce objections of environmentalists, and indigenous groups have protested that the government has failed to take into account their objections to that and other projects. | Mr. Correa has vowed to open a previously protected section of remote Amazon jungle to oil exploration, over the fierce objections of environmentalists, and indigenous groups have protested that the government has failed to take into account their objections to that and other projects. |
| Francis, 78, has planned a large open-air Mass on Monday in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, and then one in Quito the next day. He will travel to Bolivia on Wednesday and from there to Paraguay. The three nations are among the smallest and poorest countries on the continent. | Francis, 78, has planned a large open-air Mass on Monday in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, and then one in Quito the next day. He will travel to Bolivia on Wednesday and from there to Paraguay. The three nations are among the smallest and poorest countries on the continent. |
| Francis, who was born in Argentina, visited Brazil in 2013 shortly after becoming pope. This is his first visit to Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America since he became pope. | Francis, who was born in Argentina, visited Brazil in 2013 shortly after becoming pope. This is his first visit to Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America since he became pope. |
| He arrives in Ecuador at a time of political tension, which has become more acute as his visit has focused world attention on the tiny country. For several weeks, protesters have taken to the streets in some of the largest demonstrations against the government since Mr. Correa became president in 2007. | He arrives in Ecuador at a time of political tension, which has become more acute as his visit has focused world attention on the tiny country. For several weeks, protesters have taken to the streets in some of the largest demonstrations against the government since Mr. Correa became president in 2007. |
| The protests started as middle-class opposition to proposals that would have significantly increased taxes on inheritances and capital gains. But they soon became expressions of discontent over Mr. Correa’s often belligerent style of governing, austerity measures, regulations affecting the health system and other complaints. | The protests started as middle-class opposition to proposals that would have significantly increased taxes on inheritances and capital gains. But they soon became expressions of discontent over Mr. Correa’s often belligerent style of governing, austerity measures, regulations affecting the health system and other complaints. |
| Mr. Correa withdrew the tax proposals, which he had described as a way to redistribute wealth here. | Mr. Correa withdrew the tax proposals, which he had described as a way to redistribute wealth here. |
| Upon welcoming Francis at the airport, Mr. Correa gave a speech in which he referred to statements by the pope decrying unequal distribution of wealth. | Upon welcoming Francis at the airport, Mr. Correa gave a speech in which he referred to statements by the pope decrying unequal distribution of wealth. |
| Francis, dressed in a floor-length white vestment with a silver cross on a chain around his neck, thanked the president for his “consonance with my thoughts,” adding, with apparent humor, “You have quoted me too much.” | Francis, dressed in a floor-length white vestment with a silver cross on a chain around his neck, thanked the president for his “consonance with my thoughts,” adding, with apparent humor, “You have quoted me too much.” |
| In what may be seen here as an allusion to the nation’s bitter political divisions, Francis went on to say, “We can find in the Gospel the keys that will allow us to confront today’s challenges, appreciating our differences, fostering dialogue and participation without exclusion.” | In what may be seen here as an allusion to the nation’s bitter political divisions, Francis went on to say, “We can find in the Gospel the keys that will allow us to confront today’s challenges, appreciating our differences, fostering dialogue and participation without exclusion.” |
| And he urged people to give “special attention to our most fragile brothers and the most vulnerable minorities, the debt that is still owed by Latin America.” | And he urged people to give “special attention to our most fragile brothers and the most vulnerable minorities, the debt that is still owed by Latin America.” |
| The visit by Francis, who arrived after a 12-and-a-half hour flight from Rome, is just the second by a pope to Ecuador. Pope John Paul II was here in 1985. | The visit by Francis, who arrived after a 12-and-a-half hour flight from Rome, is just the second by a pope to Ecuador. Pope John Paul II was here in 1985. |
| Government workers have been given Monday and Tuesday off. Thousands of visitors are expected to flood in from neighboring Colombia and Peru and other nations in the region. | Government workers have been given Monday and Tuesday off. Thousands of visitors are expected to flood in from neighboring Colombia and Peru and other nations in the region. |
| Newspapers carried banner headlines on Sunday announcing the pope’s arrival. Souvenir sellers were offering T-shirts, wooden crosses, Francis key chains and other memorabilia. Churches sold $5 “pope kits,” small cloth bags containing a white T-shirt with the official logo of the papal visit, a blue kerchief, a plastic rosary and a souvenir booklet. | Newspapers carried banner headlines on Sunday announcing the pope’s arrival. Souvenir sellers were offering T-shirts, wooden crosses, Francis key chains and other memorabilia. Churches sold $5 “pope kits,” small cloth bags containing a white T-shirt with the official logo of the papal visit, a blue kerchief, a plastic rosary and a souvenir booklet. |
| Yet not everyone here rushed to welcome the pope or snap up a souvenir. | Yet not everyone here rushed to welcome the pope or snap up a souvenir. |
| “He’s just a normal human being like any one of us,” said Arturo Norero, a pastor at a Baptist church here, where Protestant groups like his have been steadily drawing disaffected Catholics. | “He’s just a normal human being like any one of us,” said Arturo Norero, a pastor at a Baptist church here, where Protestant groups like his have been steadily drawing disaffected Catholics. |
| “There is so much hullabaloo and millions of dollars are being spent on his visit, which, if we look at it logically, could be better spent on the basic needs of our society,” said Mr. Norero, a former Catholic who has a brother who is a priest. | “There is so much hullabaloo and millions of dollars are being spent on his visit, which, if we look at it logically, could be better spent on the basic needs of our society,” said Mr. Norero, a former Catholic who has a brother who is a priest. |
| Another pastor, Luis Miguel Hernández, 28, said Francis’ arrival in Ecuador could be a sign that a biblical prophecy of the end of the world was at hand. | Another pastor, Luis Miguel Hernández, 28, said Francis’ arrival in Ecuador could be a sign that a biblical prophecy of the end of the world was at hand. |
| “We see that we’re getting close to the end times,” Mr. Hernández said. | “We see that we’re getting close to the end times,” Mr. Hernández said. |