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Analysis: Cardinals elect Ratzinger | April 20, 2005

4-19-2005

By Roland Flamini
UPI Chief International Correspondent

WASHINGTON -- Suddenly, it was over. On Monday, the world watched some unique television as the cardinals lined up beneath the splendor of the Sistine Chapel frescoes to take the oath of secrecy, and by Tuesday afternoon there was the sudden reality of white smoke belching forth from the chimney proclaiming that the Roman Catholic Church had its 265th pope.

There was little surprise when Cardinal Jorge Estevez announced "with great joy" that the new pope was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who had taken the name of Pope Benedict XVI. The 115 cardinals meeting in the Sistine Chapel has chosen another non-Italian, but -- like his revered predecessor John Paul II -- another European. The Italians have a saying about papal conclaves, the process of electing a new pope.

"He who goes in a pope comes out a cardinal" -- in other words favorites don't always win.

But the German-born son of a policeman -- a close collaborator and friend of Pope John Paul II, and since 1981 the prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, and as such the church's chief theologian -- was all along the favorite of London bookmakers and online bettors, and in the end the cardinals had the same idea.

Faced with a slew of possible candidates, the cardinals made what many would regard as a safe choice heralding no major shifts in the direction of Pope John Paul II's papacy either on doctrinal or social issues facing the Roman Catholic Church.

The first papal election of the 21st century took less than two days and four ballots. It was the second-shortest conclave in modern history. The fact the cardinals only needed to vote four times indicates the Ratzinger bandwagon was unstoppable.

If things ran true to form, the first ballot Monday gave the cardinals the opportunity to pay compliments to friends in the Sacred College by voting for them. On Tuesday, the cardinals got down to business and -- Vatican analysts say -- after testing a couple of possible alternatives in the morning voting, bowed to the inevitable in the afternoon and elected Ratzinger.

The new pope's age -- he turned 78 Saturday -- suggests the cardinals were not ready for another long papacy to follow John Paul II's 26 years. But Ratzinger's closeness to the late pope in his approach to doctrinal teaching also means they were looking for continuity.

The cardinals have elected a guardian of doctrinal orthodoxy par excellence -- a brilliant theologian who has opposed women in the clergy, and is on record as saying that while there are other Christian religions the Catholic faith is the true one. In his sermon at the start of the conclave Monday Ratzinger spoke of "the dictatorship of relativism," which "allows oneself to be carried here and there on any doctrinal wind." The real doctrine is not "the one that follows the shifts of fashion and the latest trends."

At the same time, the new pope is a gentle man who radiates humility and integrity. Appearing on the balcony of St Peter's Basilica, he told the cheering crowd: "After Pope John Paul II, the cardinals chose me, a simple, humble laborer in the vineyard of the Lord." Also, after 24 years heading a leading Vatican department, Pope Benedict XVI has a profound knowledge of the church's central administration and is likely to introduce the reforms many senior prelates feel it needs to look after the spiritual welfare of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics. There are already predictions that the new pope is likely to merge some departments and abolish others.

The election was a disappointment for those who believed it was time for the church to place the emphasis on the social concerns of the Third World, particularly Latin America, its area of greatest growth, by choosing a pope from that region. Brazil now has almost 40 percent of the world's Catholic population; but the number of Catholics in Europe is rapidly shrinking. Even so, the largest number of cardinals -- 58 -- were from Europe. Some experts were speculating Tuesday that Pope Benedict XVI would make the re-evangelization of Europe an early priority and that the European bloc had given him their total support precisely for that reason.

Ratzinger emerged as the front runner during the funeral of Pope John Paul II, in which as dean of the College of Cardinals he played a key role. His tribute to the late pope, with its reference to John Paul as a poet and writer, struck the right note for many. Nothing could have evoked Pope John Paul's memory more vividly than when Ratzinger pointed to the pope's window in the Vatican Palace and said that from where he was now the pope was still looking down protectively on those gathered in St Peter's Square.

After that the buzz began to spread about him in Rome. By the time the papal conclave convened Monday he was the man to beat -- or to elect. Vatican experts said that going into the conclave Ratzinger had some 50 votes, or about 28 short of the required two-thirds majority.

Posted by admin at April 20, 2005 10:13 AM


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