I think he will be a man to draw up the drawbridge and and shoot it out at the modern world from the castle keep.

Look for church conservatives in the U.S. and around the world to be even more in ascendance than ever.

Catholic Democrats who are pro-choice should expect to be denied communion.

That'd be like saying we have a chance of getting Dennis Kucinich elected because only have the country voted for the Conservative.

I'm glad I left 2 years ago.

Nobody should be surprised.  Ratzinger's been running the place since JP II's health went downhill.

As my husband & I like to say, he must have known some really good card tricks.

Ratzinger is defined as a strong defender of John Paul's conservative movements. Yes, he was Hitler Youth but that may or may not mean anything. What does mean something is his role as defender of the faith...

"He's been head of Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (formerly the Inquisition) for more than 20 years and he has been described as being even more zealous in the defense of orthodoxy than the pope himself."

Ummm... the Inquisition? A German, ex-Hitler Youth, Head of the Inquisition? Too bad this isn't American politics. We could have field day with that.

He is 78 so he won't be Pope long but don't expect any liberal changes from this guy.

Further of the 115 Cardinals that selected the new Pope, 113 of them were appointed by John Paul. Not all are as conservative as John Paul or as Ratzinger appears to be but don't expect some wave of liberalism to wash over these guys without intervening events.

Given that thought... it would be fantastic if Benedict XVI excommunicated the vast majority of American Catholics that want Female Priests, married Priests, think gay union is ok, and think contreception should be approved as well as abortion. Lets hope this guy goes senile and tries to be "the enforcer." It could be just the cataclsymic event necessary to bring the church back into the modern era.

I think that the choice of the name Benedict signals a certain amount of concern with matters of war and peace in this modern world.  Had he been obsessed with archconservative doctrinal orthodoxy, he might have chosen the name Pius.

But strangely enough... "Benedictus" is seen as a moderately progressive pope name...

On the other hand, his profile is so conservative that expectations on his possible moderation will be so low that he can only surprise us

I suppose the analogy would be like if Bush died/resigned/was Raptured, and Dick Cheney took over for the rest of the term. Since he's the evil crank who's being doing all the behind-the-scenes heavy lifting for his more-charismatic front man, the policy and practices wouldn't change much. But with the curtain of charisma pulled back, all we'd see for a few years would be the bitter old wizard pulling the levers. Hopefully that can result in the pendulum swinging back the next time to choose (although it's hard for that to happen when it's not the 1 billion Catholics who make the choice, only the self-perpetuating college of cardinals).

43% of the catholics of the world live
in Latin America. Europe is in the interim
band.

The appointment speaks well of the modern catholic
church. Religious conservatism is a simple
practice.  The papacy recently stated, in fact,
that homosexuality is part of a 'culture of evil'.

Who do you think actually helped author
that. Ratzinger has been working with JP2 for
quite some time now, so we won't see anything
different than what we already have.

After all, the Germans opposed the war in
Iraq.  Didn't they?

For my money, I'd care less about how they
deal with homosexuality and other non-issues
like abortion and get on with the real
issues like cloning.  

Fundamentalism is a way of escaping the world,
hiding from its realities. These are eternal
realities facing the church. A younger voice
is welcome, and the church seems to be
in good hands.

but geez, could the vatican have been
more obvious in that europe vs.
latin america thing?

Hail Europa. Not sieg heil.. hail!

>:)

Maybe its time for the American Catholic Church to do what Henry VIII did in the 16th century and say fuck you to the Vatican.  Or maybe its time for American Catholic to walk away,

However, as a wife of a lapsed Catholic, I have noticed that to be a Catholic is almost like being a Jew, its a culture not just a religion.  Once born a Catholic always a Catholic--it is in the blood.  You can't say that about Protestants.

Change can come one way or another.  You just have to walk away.  If you can.

If he recognizes the global trade regime as being a religion all its own -- a cult of corporate greed and avarice -- he can't be all bad.

I have heard some rumors that Cardinal Ratzinger is not as much as a critic of capitalism and corporate power-also known in the Church as "consumerism", as was John Paul II.

As a Catholic, I would like to say, give him a chance.  However, as a lapsed Catholic, I fear dark times are ahead for the Church.  If Cardinal Ratzinger clamps down hard in enforcing his version of Catholic orthodoxy, I expect the Catholic Church to lose millions more in Europe and North America.

However, he could surprise us.  The Cardinals were looking for a "caretaker" Pope when they elected John XXIII in 1963.  Little did they expect he would convene the Second Vatican Council to "open the windows of the Church to the world" and let in a New Pentecost of the Holy Spirit.

I am enough of a Catholic to still have the virtue of hope and faith, hope that the Holy Spirit will guide the Church and prevent the Gates of Hell from prevailing over it.

"For I say unto you, Simon bar-Jona, that flesh and blood has not revealed this unto thee (that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God), but my Father which is in Heaven.  And I say unto thee, that THOU ART PETER (meaning the rock), AND UPON THIS ROCK I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH, AND THE GATES OF HELL WILL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT, AND I SHALL GIVE UNTO THEE THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, THAT WHATSOVER THOU SHALT BIND ON EARTH SHALT BE BOUND IN HEAVEN, AND WHATSOEVER THOU SHALT LOOSE ON EARTH SHALL BE LOOSED IN HEAVEN."  

I would just add to  your comment about Catholic being concentrated in New England that they are also present in large numbers in the Great Lakes states of Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin as well as in the highly Hispanic states of the Southwest and California.

Otherwide interesting comments on the state of today's Church.

In fact, he has tried to emulate and ostrisize various groups of people in the NAME OF THE LORD... makes him a really really really bad choice.

He has not repented for his sins but has amplified the sins of a genocide he participated in as a youth and as a cardinal called for the same kind of hatred towards his fellow man...

He still is a NAZI.