Not Particularly Delighted

So the cardinals have speedily picked a new pope. Here's a quote regarding Benedict XVI, former Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger:


Yahoo! News - German Cardinal Becomes Pope Benedict XVI

: "Not everyone was happy, however. Jose Silvano, a 40-year-old travel agent from Brazil, called Ratzinger 'the right pope for the cardinals, but not for the people. We were hoping for a South American, a Brazilian, a pope who would work for the neediest and the rights of women and children.'
Niels Hendrich, 40, of Hamburg, Germany, jumped up and down at the prospect of a new pope %u2014 but then gave only three halfhearted claps when he learned who it was.
'I am not happy about this at all,' he said. 'Ratzinger will put the brakes on all the progressive movements in the church that I support.'"

Now I chime in:
--The man has gone on record on many many occasions as seeing the world in terms of a clash of civilisations and admitting no grey into his world. Sadly, some issues require shades of grey, not everything is a yes no, evil or good answer. Life is MUCH more complicated than that, and one's faith needs to be able to adapt to an ever more complex world in its guidance. The office of pope is a role for a communicator and a bridge builder in the modern era. Hopefully the Spirit will enlighten this man and equip him with a softer approach and greater understanding. Right now, I cannot help but see a great schism in the Church when led by someone so frustratingly narrow minded--at least in the first world, I predict that many more will be driven away. Catholicism has roots in love and service and inclusion, not exclusion, hate, and dismissal. May God open this man's eyes to these facts so that he can find a true spirit of leadership and guidance.