In electing Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to be the next Pope the 115 cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church have chosen continuity over change, doctrinal orthodoxy over renewal, central authority over collegial control and a stern and rigorous critic of modernist relativism over those Catholics who believe their church must continuously adapt to the changing signs of the times.
Pope Benedict XVI was the principal keeper of orthodoxy during Pope John Paul's papacy. He now faces a formidable pastoral challenge to lead a church in which the positions with which he is so clearly associated are widely contested, notwithstanding the enormous surge of faith and loyalty his election will generate among Catholic believers. Personally he is described by those who know him as an approachable and modest man, belying the stern public image surrounding his office as prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. He is a fine communicator with the linguistic abilities which are an indispensable resource for the leader of a global church.
In the clearcut defence of traditional doctrine delivered at the pre-conclave Mass, Cardinal Ratzinger concentrated on the need to take a stand against relativism and the "tides of trends and the latest novelties" which eroded family values and traditional sexual and personal morality. There was no mention of poverty and injustice preoccupying half the world's Catholics who come from the poorer south; nor of the need for a dialogue with other world religions; nor of the demand from many clergy to allow women to join their ministry or review priestly celibacy.
Pope Benedict is a long-standing critic of such modernist trends, opening him to the criticism that he wants to reverse progress made at the second Vatican Council in the 1960s to bring his church more into communication and sympathy with the contemporary world. Long-standing theological opponents such as Hans Kung describe him as self-righteous, ahistorical and blind to changing realities in taking such stands. In response the Pope has insisted on a non-conformity deeply rooted in personal conviction and reasoned theological doctrine based on a long continuity of Catholic belief. There can be little expectation that this fundamental stance will change during his papacy.
Although he is 78 it should not be assumed he will be simply a brief transitional figure. He affirms religious continuity with Pope John Paul II. He has the enormous legitimacy from such a decisive and rapid election to face down opponents and critics. He can insist on his authority as he chooses to assert it. Confronting growing secularisation and loss of faith in the European heartlands of Catholicism will be clear priorities. But if these issues are tackled by empowering conservative movements and organisations against modernist and reformist Catholics, Pope Benedict will deepen rather than heal divisions in his church.