In his first Mass as pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI pledged to work to unify all Christians, reach out to other religions and continue implementing reforms.

The former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger listed his top priorities in a message read in Latin to cardinals gathered in the Sistine Chapel.

He said his "primary task" would be to unify all Christians.

He also said he wanted to enter into and continue "an open and sincere dialogue" with other religions and would strive to improve ecumenical discussions.

In the past, he has branded other Christian denominations to be deficient.

"Now, this morning, he also referred to the need to create links and maintain dialogue with other faiths, so there's a big question mark over how he will do that," CTV's Tom Kennedy reported from Vatican City.

Jewish leaders said they were encouraged.

"I hope that the new pope will continue the same way and he will continue to build the same bridge as the last pope built in the past between the two nations, between the Christians and the Jewish nation," said Israel's chief rabbi, Yona Metzger.

But the Greek Metropolitan Bishop, Chrisostomos of Zakynthos, expressed his concern that Benedict may not work to unite Christians. Unless his record changes, he said, "it will be a huge thorn, a great difficulty in continuing the efforts of his predecessors with the Orthodox for convergence, as was the will of Christ."

In an attempt to show he would be following in the footsteps of his friend and predecessor, the new pope referred to John Paul several times on Wednesday.

One of his statements referred to the late pontiff's final will, where John Paul said he hoped future generations would draw on the Second Vatican Council's work that modernized the Catholic Church.

"I too ... want to affirm with decisive willingness to follow in the commitment of carrying out the Second Vatican Council, in the wake of my predecessors and in faithful continuity with the 2,000-year-old tradition of the church," he said.

Indeed, Benedict said he felt John Paul's presence as he grappled with the responsibility of his new role.
"I seem to feel his strong hand holding mine. I feel I can see his smiling eyes and hear his words, at this moment particularly directed at me: 'Be not afraid.'"

Archbishop Brendan Michael O'Brien, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, said he believes the new pope will likely address the issue of growing secularism, particularly in Europe and North America.

"I think he will try to open a dialogue with people and get them to think ... they may not all be very happy about the way things go but I think he will challenge people to think," O'Brien said, appearing on Canada AM.

The new 78-year-old pope was elected Wednesday after just a handful of ballots -- the oldest pontiff in 275 years, and the first Germanic pope in nearly a millennium.

"Dear brothers and sisters, after the great Pope John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me, a simple, humble worker in the Lord's vineyard," he said in his first words as pope.

"I am comforted by the fact that the Lord knows how to work and act even with insufficient instruments. And above all, I entrust myself to your prayers."

He will hold his official inaugural Mass on Sunday, April 24, said Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls.

Ratzinger was picked on the second day of voting at the Vatican by 115 cardinals. He was considered the frontrunner going into the conclave.

Ratzinger's election as pontiff was seen by some observers as an indication that cardinals wanted to stay the Vatican's conservative course, but at the same time wanted a shorter papacy than John Paul II's than 26-year term.

Ratzinger was called the "Enforcer" of the Catholic faith after being named prefect of the Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith, a post that had him enforcing the Church's teachings.

While the new pope has received some criticism for his hard-line stance on many moral issues, he is also seen as an intelligent man with much influence.

He presided over many of the key ceremonies following the death of John Paul in early April, raising speculation that he would emerge a winner from the conclave.

With files from The Associated Press