Catholics greet first Latin American Pope "Thank you for the welcome": Pope Francis. US President Barack Obama said the selection "speaks to the strength and vitality of a region that is increasingly shaping our world, and alongside millions of Hispanic Americans, those of us in the US share the joy of this historic day." United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement saying the UN and the religious leader "share many common goals - from the promotion of peace, social justice and human rights, to the eradication of poverty and hunger - all core elements of sustainable development." In Australia, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the election of a Pope from the "new world" was an occasion of genuinely historic proportions. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said it was momentous. The new Pope, a Jesuit and of Italian descent, inherits from Benedict XVI a church rocked by sex-abuse scandals amid a waning profile in an increasingly secular west. The Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests immediately called on Pope Francis to hand over secret Vatican files about child sex abuse in Australia. While he has held positions in the curia, the church's Rome-based bureaucracy, the new Pope is not seen as a typical Vatican insider. Analysts depicted a struggle in the conclave between mostly Italian cardinals seeking to preserve the status quo and others looking to shake up the curia after last year's papal leaks scandal. Buenos Aires archbishop Eduardo Horacio Garcia described his countryman as someone who will lead with "humility, his closeness to the people. He proves himself through his gestures not his words, his serenity when making decisions. White smoke billowed from a Sistine Chapel chimney to signal Pope Francis' election just after 7pm local time on Wednesday (5am Thursday, Sydney time). After about an hour, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the senior cardinal-deacon, appeared on the verandah at St Peter's basilica and announced the time-honoured phrase, "I have tidings of great joy: Habemus papam!" We have a Pope!. Cardinals had been locked behind the Vatican walls since Tuesday, meeting in a Renaissance chapel swept for recording devices and installed with scramblers to prevent any communication. The historic election after Benedict's abrupt resignation last month was being followed around the world on live television as well as through social media and smartphone apps. It was the first ever conclave result to be tweeted.