A steadfast defender of Catholic tradition became the spiritual leader of over one billion Tuesday when cardinals elected Joseph Ratzinger as the 265th leader of the Catholic Church.
While millions of devotees-including hundreds of UW-Madison students-joyfully welcome their new leader, others have reservations regarding the pope's hard-line conservative stance. Yet whether rejoicing or reserved, all Catholics face the question of how different the presence of their new pontiff will be.
Ratzinger, who officially became Pope Benedict XVI upon his election, will be the eighth German-born pope. Throughout nearly all of John Paul II's pontificate, Ratzinger was a close associate of the pope. He also led the church's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a group that enforces adherence to Catholic orthodoxy and tradition.
\He's a conservative's conservative,"" UW-Madison history Professor James Donnelly said. ""As the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he called on the carpet theologians who were not towing the Vatican line and asked them to recant, or to remain silent, or to leave.""
John Paul II worked hard to centralize Catholic power and to appoint only bishops who exactly agreed with his position on cultural issues, Donnelly added. Although they may be slightly more conservative, Ratzinger's beliefs are seen as very similar to those of John Paul II. This likely means Ratzinger's papacy will inherit a church unlikely to oppose his views.
Monsignor Kenneth Fiedler of Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, 401 S. Owen Dr., said he agreed Ratzinger's papacy would ideologically stay in line with John Paul II's.
""I just think that Cardinal Ratzinger will probably hold the line of Pope John Paul II,"" Fiedler said. ""I'd be real surprised if there were any major changes under this term of the pope.""
Fiedler said he thought all Catholics would feel the presence of the new pope, yet was more cautious on any specific institutional changes Catholic parishioners may encounter.
""I think the pope is the primary teacher, so from that point of view, yes, I think it will affect everybody,"" he said.
Matt Nicolai, a UW-Madison senior and student leader at St. Paul's Catholic Church, said he felt Americans of his generation would especially notice the new pope because they have never lived through a papal change before.
""I think regardless of if [Ratzinger] maintains the same views or even if he has different views, just the fact that it is a different pope would affect people's perspectives,"" he said.
Nevertheless, Donnelly said the new pontiff's decidedly traditional mindset could be very apparent to Catholics.
""There's every reason to think that the diminished local autonomy will continue or worsen,"" Donnelly said. ""Homosexuals will continue to find the Roman Catholic Church a rather inhospitable place, as will women, as will the vast majority of moderate and progressive Catholics.\
