We have a Pope!

In a short conclave, the College of Cardinals has elected a new Pope! The new leader of a billion Roman Catholics around the world is Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who has chosen the name Benedict XVI for his papacy.

For only the third time in a hundred years, the conclave took 3 days to choose the new Pontiff.

Ratzinger may have sealed his election with an impassioned homily at The Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff that touched on several themes that are close to the heart of the conservatives, including the very traditional view of the Savior’s suffering that some more liberal theologians would like to de-emphasize in Catholic teachings:

The mercy of Christ is not a cheap grace; it does not presume a trivialization of evil. Christ carries in his body and on his soul all the weight of evil, and all its destructive force. He burns and transforms evil through suffering, in the fire of his suffering love. The day of vindication and the year of favor meet in the paschal mystery, in Christ died and risen. This is the vindication of God: he himself, in the person of the Son, suffers for us. The more we are touched by the mercy of the Lord, the more we draw closer in solidarity with his suffering – and become willing to bear in our flesh “what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ” (Col 1, 24).

Ratzinger has proved very popular all over the world to the point where he has his own “fan club.” He served as Prefect for the Doctrine of the Faith, one of the more powerful positions in the church. His nickname of “the enforcer” among some more liberal publications indicates his unwavering support for traditional church doctrine.

He’s also been known for his charm and personality:

Personally charming, quick-witted and fluent in four languages, the Cardinal is a convincing orator. Jesuit Father Thomas Reese calls him “a delightful dialog partner”, but adds that most of the Cardinal’s fellow clergy would be too worried about the prospect of excommunication to enjoy talking to him.

Ratzinger at age 78 is one of the older Popes elected in recent memory. This reflects a feeling that perhaps John Paul II served too long (27 years) and that some of the younger candidates like Cardinal Maradiaga of Honduras (age 62) or Schoenborn of Austria (59) need a little more seasoning before their turn comes.

The election of Benedict XVI comes as a huge disappointment to the America Church. They were looking for someone more open to change on issues like birth control (not abortion), married clergy, and some matters of independence from Rome. They won’t get any help on those issues from this Pope.

Perhaps this Pope will surprise us in some respects. But as a creature of the Vatican, so to speak, it’s doubtful whether he could have gotten elected unless he gave some assurances to the curiae that things wouldn’t change very much.