Mixed media: Ascension of the favourite

A bad choice

THE LIBERAL VIEW: There is simply no other figure more extreme than the new pope on the issues that divide the Church. No one.

He raised the stakes even further by his extraordinarily bold homily at the beginning of the conclave, where he all but declared a war on modernity, liberalism (meaning modern liberal democracy of all stripes), and freedom of thought and conscience.

And the speed of the decision must be interpreted as an enthusiastic endorsement of his views.

- writer Andrew Sullivan on www.andrewsullivan.com

LEFT-LEANING NEWSPAPER: The ... cardinals chickened out of making harder, more long-term choices in this conclave: they have gone for what they perceive to be safety and continuity - maybe in the expectation of a short reign.

But by postponing facing the church's problems, they may have exacerbated them.

- Stephen Bates in the Guardian

A WORLD VIEW: That he is a German who grew up in Nazi Germany will be noted and explored, though there is no hint that he was anything other than a foe of Nazism.

What will attract more discussion is the public position he took last year against allowing Turkey into the European Union on the argument that this would conflict with Europe's Christian identity. Hopefully this is not a theme he will pursue as pope.

- International Herald Tribune.

AFRICAN DISAPPOINTMENT: He may be a renowned theological intellectual, but cannot know how much havoc the HIV/Aids pandemic has inflicted on the continent.

He must be convinced by all the African bishops that the Catholic church must re-examine its unhelpful, to put it mildly, stance on the use of condoms as a measure to reduce the incidence of HIV/Aids on the continent.

- The Daily News, Harare

Perfect for the job

A BELIEVER: It is with great pleasure and relief that those of us who are American Roman Catholics receive the news that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has been elected Pope.

It is significant also that he chose the name Benedict XVI. Pope Benedict XV sought to bring together the warring factions during World War I and fought hard for peace among all people.

We are pleased.

- Jeff Francis, Massachusetts, quoted on the Christian Science Monitor

THE COLUMNIST: Ratzinger is a brilliant, tough-minded intellectual who started out as moderately liberal and - like so many American neoconservatives - developed a mistrust of the left because of the student revolt of the 1960s.

He once said that "the 1968 revolution" turned into "a radical attack on human freedom and dignity, a deep threat to all that is human."

- column by E.J. Dionne jnr in the Washington Post

AN AUSTRALASIAN OPINION: It is this power of intellect and reflection that above all qualifies a cardinal as pope.

The fact Pope Benedict is not an intellectual in the recent Western style - accepting of all views as equally valid and with an "anything goes" approach to personal behaviour - does not make him any less of one.

Yes, Pope Benedict has strict positions on Catholic doctrine and morality and is on the record as believing his faith is more true than competing faiths ... But aren't [opponents] barking up the wrong tree by condemning the cardinals for choosing someone who promises to hold fast to the core beliefs of the church he is to lead?

- The Australian 

THE ISRAELI VIEW: If he were truly a Nazi sympathiser, then it would undoubtedly have become evident during the past 60 years.

Yet throughout his service in the church, Ratzinger has distinguished himself in the field of Jewish-Catholic relations.

As prefect of the Doctrine of the Faith, Ratzinger played an instrumental role in the Vatican's revolutionary reconciliation with the Jews under John Paul II.

- Sam Ser writing in the Jerusalem Post