Pontiff likely to stay course
| • | Isles' faithful mixed on conservative's election |
| • | Nazi experience left indelible imprint on new pope |
| • | Why the name Benedict was chosen |
| • | The life of Pope Benedict XVI |
By Tracy Wilkinson and Richard Boudreaux
Los Angeles Times
VATICAN CITY — Joseph Ratzinger, a renowned theologian and hard-line enforcer of Catholic Church doctrine for the past two decades, was chosen yesterday to succeed his friend and close ally Pope John Paul II. Ratzinger, 78, became Pope Benedict XVI, the 265th leader of the world's largest and most powerful Christian institution.
L'Osservatore Romano
The swift election of the German-born Ratzinger by the church's College of Cardinals was widely seen as a vote for continuity of John Paul's policies, signaling an endorsement of the church's most conservative teachings.
German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger blesses the huge crowd that gathered in St. Peter's Square to witness his first appearance as the new pope. Ratzinger — now Pope Benedict XVI — will assume leadership of a church that is sharply divided after John Paul II's reign.
White smoke indicating the pope's election puffed from a skinny chimney atop the Sistine Chapel at 5:50 p.m., and onlookers started to cheer. Five minutes later, the great bell of St. Peter's began to toll.
Applause and chants of 'Viva il Papa' rang out. People from across Rome converged on St. Peter's Square, running through streets and bridges over the Tiber River to join the swelling crowd.
After Ratzinger's name was read to the assembled multitude, he stepped onto a balcony and described himself as "a simple, humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord."
"The fact that the Lord can work and act even with insufficient means consoles me," said the new pope, dressed in flowing white robes and the scarlet papal cape and golden stole, "and above all I entrust myself to your prayers."
White-haired and slightly hunched, Ratzinger smiled and waved. Where John Paul regularly embraced and played enthusiastically to his audiences, Pope Benedict XVI appeared a bit stiff and kept his remarks short.
In his first Mass last night, the pope pledged to continue the liberalizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council and to work to unify all Christians, outlining his goals after a papal election that signaled the church was intent on sticking to tradition as it confronts 21st-century problems.
He said his "primary task" would be to work to reunify all Christians and that sentiment alone was not enough. "Concrete acts that enter souls and move consciences are needed," he said.
He said he wanted to continue "an open and sincere dialogue" with other religions and would do everything in his power to improve the ecumenical cause.
Faith losing ground
The new pope will lead a church in crisis, sharply divided after John Paul's 26-year reign. Despite John Paul's personal magnetism, many of the church's 1 billion members are seriously disaffected, the faith is losing ground in many parts of the world to other religions, and is under threat from radical Islam and secularism. Reaction to the election of the oldest pope in two centuries was mixed, both in a St. Peter's Square packed with people eager to hear the news, and worldwide.
Domenico Stinellis • Associated Press
Liberal Catholics who had hoped for change and a more receptive openness toward the role of women in the church, birth control and homosexuality, were disappointed and predicted a status quo — or worse, a leap backward — that would drive even more people from the church.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger greeted a joyous Vatican crowd yesterday in his first appearance as Pope Benedict XVI.
Others said he was the logical choice to succeed John Paul given his closeness to the late pontiff, his similar views on key issues affecting the church and the increasingly prominent role he played in church affairs as John Paul's health deteriorated.
"The cardinals chose the best known and most respected of their number, a man they each know as a great listener and a sympathetic listener," said George Wiegel, one of John Paul's biographers. "This was not only a tremendous affirmation of the past 26 1/2 years, it was a vote of confidence in Joseph Ratzinger as the man best fitted to give an evangelical thrust to this papacy."
Meeting secretly for less than 24 hours, Roman Catholic cardinals locked inside the Sistine Chapel elected Ratzinger on the fourth ballot.
Initial details quickly emerged on how the cardinals reached the two-thirds majority needed for victory. While many observers had thought Ratzinger would be too polarizing a figure at this critical juncture in church history, several cardinals appeared to have fallen into line behind the image of a strong leader who represented unambiguous moral authority.
Powerful platform
Ratzinger's tough-minded advocacy of the primacy of Catholicism evidently appealed to cardinals in those parts of the developing world where holders of the faith are under attack by militant Islam or totalitarian regimes.
Jaspeer Juinen • Associated Press
He drew those battle lines on Monday in a Mass that opened the conclave. Before a worldwide television audience, Ratzinger used his homily to demand rigid adherence to the traditional teachings of the church, too often buffeted, he said, by "the waves of today's fashions or the latest novelties."
Nuns celebrate the white smoke from the Sistine Chapel chimney that signaled a new pope. The bell of St. Peter's rang five minutes later.
Ratzinger led the Mass, directed the conclave and delivered an emotional homily at John Paul's funeral — all as part of his position as dean of the College of Cardinals. That gave him a unique and powerful platform from which to win the votes of fellow cardinals.
Cardinal Edward Egan of New York cited Ratzinger's handling of the funeral, in which many observers thought Ratzinger showed a softer side of his personality, as one of the factors that persuaded other cardinals to vote for him.
'Sense of fraternity'
Ratzinger reportedly went into the conclave with around 50 of the needed 77 votes in the bank. The more reform-minded wing of the college was not able to agree on a single candidate. Although cardinals entering the conclave had spoken of widely divergent agendas, from the need to democratize the church, dialogue with Islam, and perhaps turn to dynamic Latin America for leadership, the opposition quickly melted away.
The cardinals were sworn to secrecy about the inner workings of the conclave, where they took one vote on Monday afternoon, and two yesterday morning before the final tally yesterday afternoon.
Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, without describing the breakdown in the vote, said there was a "sense of fraternity and a sense of consensus among men ... just really a good friendly group."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
