The 1.1 billion Catholics out there have a brand new leader, and in record time too. The quickness of the conclave's decision indicates that there was probably a pretty firm consensus right from the start of the deliberations. (Certainly a lot more consensus than during some historical change-overs.) It's going to be hard to explain to our grandkids the spirit of hope and optimism that reigned in the days leading up to the conclave of cardinals' vote. Moderate and liberal Catholics were hoping for someone less conservative than John Paul II; Latinos hoped for a Latino; Africans hoped for an African. Good feelings for the Mother Church were legion. So, of course, the church elders decided to squander them by electing an old white guy, referred to by his friends as "The Pope's Enforcer". Or, perhaps we should say it was the Holy Spirit that did the squandering.

Benedict XVI (nee Joseph Ratzinger), is 78 years old, so this isn't likely to be a long papacy. (Then again, with all that clean living, this Pope could have several years of life in him; at least 42 of them.) Even wishing the new Holy Father the best of health, it's obvious that the cardinals wanted a man who could come in and serve a transitional role. In a sense what they've done is to continue John Paul II's reign for several more years while they wait for... what exactly?

Some see Ratzinger's election as a sign from the church fathers that they intend to keep the church on a very conservative course; but there could be other reasons. Ratzinger was a close associate of John Paul's, even ghost-writing many of his statements. Given the overwhelming popularity of the previous Pope, there's a good chance that he would have been elected regardless of his theological tendencies, as long as they weren't too far out of the mainstream.

Surely there must be hundreds of much younger, much more conservative Catholic men in good standing out there. And, given the fact that South America, Asia and Africa are home to the fastest growing Catholic regions, and that they tend to be very conservative, the church had an opportunity to set the world on fire by electing a person of color while still guiding the church sharply to the right.

None of this is meant to imply that the church is simply biding its time while planning to swing to the left after Benedict XVI passes on. Given the make-up of the conclave, that would certainly be out of line. But, the question remains: Why didn't they choose to commit the church to a long conservative future by electing somebody young, conservative, and from a popular part of the world? What are they planning? Perhaps they just need a couple of decades to take stock and devise a new direction for the church. After all, it took them 369 years to pardon Galileo. These things take time.

-B. C. Silvia
-4/20/05