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Wednesday 20.04.2005, CET 02:02


April 20, 2005 12:20 AM

Leaders Hail New Pope, Liberal Catholics Dismayed

By Steve PaganiLONDON (Reuters) - World leaders congratulated former German cardinal Joseph Ratzinger on his election as Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday, describing him as a man blessed with the same wisdom and compassion as Pope John Paul II.Many among the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics welcomed Ratzinger as representing continuity after serving as one of the late Pope's closest aides and guardian of Church doctrine for nearly a quarter of a century.There was disappointment among those, however, who had hoped a new pope might relax the Church's views on issues such as contraception. Liberal U.S. Catholics expressed dismay at the choice of an arch-conservative as pope.Others voiced concern over whether Ratzinger was committed to ecumenism."That a fellow countryman has become pope fills us in Germany with special joy and also with a little pride," German President Horst Koehler said. Ratzinger is the first German pope for some 1,000 years.Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder called him a worthy successor to John Paul II. "In Pope Benedict XVI, a pope has been chosen who knows the world Church like no one else," Schroeder said.Besides being leader of the Catholic Church, the Pope is also head of state of the Holy See and his election was met with congratulations from around the world.President Bush called Ratzinger "a man of great wisdom and knowledge. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Ratzinger would bring a wealth of experience to his papacy.President Jacques Chirac sent his sincerest wishes, adding that France would pursue its dialogue with the Vatican to promote peace and mutual respect among the world's religions.Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said Ratzinger was a good choice and would carry on John Paul II's fight for peace."He has been portrayed too often as a bogeyman and as a 'panzer cardinal' by his opponents," Balkenende said. "It is very clear the cardinals chose a safe transition ... a man with whom they can think: 'we can go home safely, the shop in Rome is in good hands'."U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said: I'm confident that Pope Benedict XVI is blessed with the same compassion and vision that made Pope John Paul II one of the world's most revered and respected voices."President Mahmoud Abbas was quoted by aide Nabil Abu Rdainah as saying he hoped the new pope would continue the Vatican's support for a just peace in the Holy Land.CONTROVERSIALAs conservative arch-theologian during the last papacy, Ratzinger became a controversial figure, attracting his critics.U.S. liberal Catholics doubted he could a heal a Church racked by disillusionment and tarnished by a sex abuse scandal among the clergy."Ratzinger is a polarising figure to many, who seems to prefer combativeness to compromise and compassion," Mary Grant of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said.In 2000, he branded other Christian churches as deficient and then lambasted Lutherans as "absurd" when they complained.Bernd Goehring, director of German ecumenical group Kirche von Unten, said the election was a catastrophe."We can expect no reform from him in the coming years ... I think that even more people will turn their back on the church."Bishop Wolfgang Huber, chairman of the Protestant Church in Germany, said it was good for ecumenism to have a top theologian as pope, but recalled he had in recent years "treated ecumenicals with a considerable degree of exclusion and prejudice."The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, leader of the world's 70 million Anglicans, praised the new pope, however, as a theologian of "great stature" and said he looked forward to working with him.Jewish leaders said they believed Ratzinger would build on the strides made by John Paul II in helping repair the centuries of mistrust between the two monotheistic faiths.Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said Ratzinger grew up in an anti-Nazi family but was forced to join the Hitler Youth Movement."The new Pope, like his predecessor, was deeply influenced by the events of World War II," Hier said, adding that he was confident Pope Benedict XVI would continue to reach out to other religions such as Judaism."Cardinal Ratzinger already has shown a profound commitment to advancing Catholic-Jewish relations," said Rabbi David Rosen, the American Jewish Committee's international director of interreligious affairs.In Latin America, which had hoped one of their own would be elected pontiff this time, the choice may be seen as divisive.Ratzinger had disciplined Latin American priests who backed Marxist-influenced "liberation theology" to fight against social injustice and military regimes in the 1970s and 1980s.#"This is a triumph for the dogmatic, capitalist right," said Argentine theologian Ruben Dri, a professor at the University of Buenos Aires.But Brazilian archbishop Raymundo Damasceno Assis praised Ratzinger as a person who was aware of Brazil's social problems.President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, the world's biggest Roman Catholic country, congratulated the new pope and said he hoped he would promote "peace and social justice at the same time as reviving the spiritual and moral values of the church."U.S. gays were outraged at the choice of Ratzinger, who has denounced homosexuality and gay marriage."Today, the princes of the Roman Catholic Church elected as Pope a man whose record has been one of unrelenting, venomous hatred for gay people," said Matt Foreman of National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.While 78-year-old Ratzinger may not appear to have the same charisma as John Paul II, his brother said he was a very normal person and easy to get along with.Speaking before the conclave, Georg Ratzinger said he thought his brother might just be too old for the job.
Reuters

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