Hello Everybody,

White smoke!  White smoke!  The bells are ringing, and the crowd is
cheering!  A new pope has been elected!  Viva il Papa!  Long live the
Pope!

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, from Germany, has been elected pope.
No longer a cardinal, he has taken the name Benedict XVI.

What kind of pontiff will Pope Benedict XVI be?  Here is a short
quote of what then Cardinal Ratzinger had to say on Monday, while
addressing the other cardinals just before being sequestered in
the Sistine Chapel -

"We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not
recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal
one's own ego and one's own desires."

Continuing, Ratzinger insisted the modern world had gone "...from one
extreme to the other: from Marxism to liberalism, even to libertinism;
from collectivism to radical individualism; from atheism to a vague
religious mysticism; from agnosticism to syncretism."

Fighting words, to be sure.  But what does it all mean?  Ratzinger
apparently believes that Catholics are fighting a war against the
"dictatorship of relativism", and will seek to make that war central
to his mission, as well as the mission of Catholics everywhere.

Unlike the late John Paul II, this new pope does not have a sunny
disposition.  The gift that Pope Benedict XVI has is the gift of
polemic - if one can call that a gift.  Yes, this new pope will act
the part of tough cop versus dissent.  While the late John Paul II
was never a disciplinarian, Pope Benedict XVI will be a stickler,
and crack down hard on those who break the rules.

Pope Benedict XVI is a very serious man, and also a great worrier.
But it fits his German nature.  While the late John Paul II said
"Be not afraid", this new pope says the church has much to fear.
I dearly hope he was not referring to himself.

In any event, it will be interesting to see how Pope Benedict XVI
leads his church through that time of fear.  After all, these are very
trying times.  For the whole world.

--Lee


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