Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was the one chosen behind the secret walls of the Vatican, where 114 cardinals in a reclusive conclave on Tuesday cast their vote to elect the successor to the late Pope John Paul II. Cardinal Ratzinger was, in fact, said to be the deceased Pope’s closest ally. Crediting himself with the name Pope Benedict XVI, the 78 year old native of Baravia Germany, waved in modest papal gesture with hands fully raised to the cheerful crowd in St. Peters square. The audience erupted with effervescence as the new Pope emerged to the public announcement of his election to the papacy.

Pope Benedict XVI greets the crowd in St. Peter’s Square after being elected by the conclave of cardinals Tuesday.

Many observers had commented that the color of the smoke coming from St. Peter’s Basilica chimney was white, while others claimed that what they saw was grey in color or closer to black. Tradition has it that if the smoke appeared as a white emission, then a pope was actually elected. But should the smoke be black, then the voting process would be inconclusive and elections would be repeated until white smoke would eventually signal a successful selection. So, was it white smoke or black? Any confusion over the color was allayed by the ringing of the Vatican’s bell, which the late Pope John Paul II had, before his passing, devised as an indication of success in the papal selection.
Now that a new pope has been ordained, Western societies, and America in particular is jumping on the band wagon of widespread speculation as to what kind of religious allowances he might make. While Pope John Paul was stringent in his stance against issues like homosexuality, birth control and abortion, American liberals were actually hoping that the man who would replace him would work towards reforming these restrictions and permit changes to standard catholic doctrine.
But the majority of Catholics feel that Pope Benedict XVI would be just as conservative as, or even stricter, in terms of religious regulation, than was his predecessor. What makes it even more predictive that he would be more resolute, is the fact that he was often called “God’s Rottweiler”, indicating that he acted as a watch-dog for safe-guarding the church’s canon of doctrines.
As the former Head of the Congregation of Faith in the Vatican, he was often called “the guardian of Orthodoxy”. As such, this image must have played a determining factor among his fellow Cardinals for his selection. They, no doubt, felt that Joseph Ratzinger would be fit to provide continuity to the doctrine and principles of the church and to carry on the watch for preserving Pope John Paul’s ideals.
Being Pope means that Joseph Ratzinger must be Pope to all people, both conservative and liberals. However, his ideologies and convictions would not meet with the approval of everyone. He will certainly disappoint the masses. In fact, his very election has been a disappointment to millions who had been waiting to see some extent of change to church policy. But in commending his election, President Bush noted: “He is a man of great wisdom and knowledge. He is a man who serves the Lord.”
Obviously, Christ the Lord Himself led a life that was, by popular opinion, one of austerity. He opposed the works of secularism to the disappointment of the masses. To the dissatisfaction of many, this Pope provides no unforeseen expectations for reformation at all. The divisions in the Catholic Church, many of which have surfaced under John Paul’s reign, have caused the church to be somewhat unattractive and antiquated, especially from the viewpoint of the young and liberal, who are more inclined to gravitate towards secular lifestyles. This presents a sever culture clash between the church and those liberals, who find it hard to be controlled by church policy. It must be considered however, that the call to holiness and pure living is first preceded by a call to repentance, which results in ultimate conversion. Only then will one be satisfied to comply with and adhere to the standards of purity which the church upholds.
There is always a danger in expecting too much. To think that Pope Benedict would reverse the church’s stand on abortion, condom use, birth control, and gay rights is to fly in the face of the very principles of morality, truth and righteousness upon which Christ built the church in the first place. These are the principles upon which the church and the new Pope stand; these were the same principles which John Paul firmly advocated.
It is amazing to see how so many were anxiously waiting for any new pope to relax the fundamental doctrines of the church. Now that old John Paul is gone, this attitude of compromise and liberalism brings into play the old adage, “when the cat’s away the mouse will play.” It is quite unlikely, though, that this Pope would be fierce enough to rescind his resolute position on church doctrine. It is unlikely that he would go about to desecrate the values of the church to which he so faithfully subscribed, for the sake of appeasing the desires of liberal hawks.
One of the positive things that the new Pope should seek to do, however, is to give more audience to the voices of those victims who have, over the years, been sexually abused by members of the priesthood. In the United States, especially, many priests have robbed young men of their boyhood innocence, being lured away by the subtle temptation to sexually take advantage of their defenseless vulnerability. It is my view that the Vatican, as head of the church, must re-visit this issue and seriously address it through the influence of this new Pope.
His record on this issue is not that favorably, for it has been reported that in a debate upon the child molestation issue in December of 2002, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then advisor to Pope John Paul, expressed the view that apart from the fact that such priests in question were not praying enough, the American media was actually blowing the clergy’s sex scandal out of proportion. Victims of childhood sex abuses found this notion to be rather insensitive, to say the least. It has given them very little recourse or vindication in the matter. It is hoped, therefore, that Pope Benedict would now take a more hands-on approach to the age-old problem which still causes an underlying blight to the image of the Catholic faith.
By the same token, it is also my view that this new Pope should take the initiative to institute the marriage of priests. Should he ever attempt to make any one change to the church’s doctrine this should be it. This may seem rather revolutionary, but it is an important facet for the well-being of man in general, priest or no priest.
After all, God Himself has ordained marriage and He has admitted “it is not good for man to be alone”. Therefore, He went at great lengths to make it possible for man to exercise the natural right and privilege to have a wife as a companion. Celibacy is traditional, but that’s all it is.
In my view, there is nothing sacred in depriving any man of the right to marry and properly meet the need for sexual fulfillment. Conversely, the restriction to marry can be considered as one of the world’s greater ills which the Catholic Church is guilty of promoting. As a consequence, it is obvious that celibacy harbors a repulsive, deviant kind of sinful behavior known as pedophilia.
Whatever Pope Benedict’s agenda is for the church in this age, it is my hope that he would listed to God as He speaks through the Holy Spirit and that he would reach out with a fervent degree of spiritual influence to the world. Like his predecessor, he would do well to extend an embracing, pastoral hand to all men. He would be commended for continuing to uphold the genuine faith not just of Catholicism, but true Christianity.
After all, it was the Christ of Christianity Himself who told St. Peter, “Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Evil man-induced dogma of a hellish origin constantly strives to persuade the followers of Christ to compromise their faith. May Pope Benedict XVI stand fast and firm, focused with unswerving spiritual tenacity to hold the fort in faithfulness.

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