Pope Benedict XVI

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We have a New Pope. Pope Benedict XVI, was Cardinal Josef Ratzinger the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (aka; The High Inquisitor, enforcer of church doctrine). This is the person who now leads the Catholic Church. So instead of giving the world a pope who would deal with the social issues effecting the church in the developing world. You are given a German intellectual who wants to turn back the clock, to a time before the reforms of the sixties and Vatican II. Given his statements before the conclave he is opposed to may things in the modern world. It appears that the decline of the church is at hand, falling prey to the global rise of Fundamentalism world wide effecting major religions. I could be wrong, he could deal with the short falls of priest world wide, disease and other social problems that John Paul II failed to deal with in any effective way. But only time will tell. And at 78 there is no telling how much time he has in office.