Many Catholics are unaware of the various Eastern rite communities within the Church. Pope Francis would not be one of them.
Bishop Gerald N. Dino of the Byzantine Holy Protection Eparchy of Phoenix said the election of Pope Francis bodes well for Eastern rite Catholics. “He’s very familiar with the Byzantine rite,” Bishop Dino said. “It means that we have a leader who understands a minority group within the Church and respects those minorities.” As a teenager growing up in Argentina, Jorge Bergoglio, the future pontiff, attended a high school run by the Salesian Fathers. It was there that he came under the influence of a Ukrainian Catholic priest, Fr. Stefan Czmil.
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http://www.catholicsun.org/2013/05/13/pope-francis-raises-hope-among-eastern-rite-catholics/