Pope Benedict XVI

Was anyone really surprised that the white smoke would work out for Ratzinger?

Professor Stephen Bainbridge at the UCLA School of Law says only liberals were surprised (more like disappointed) that a "Vatican insider" would be chosen over a more open-minded candidate from, say, the Third World. Clearly the Vatican is more worried about sexual promiscuity in Europe than in Africa, which is too bad for obvious reasons. Nonetheless, it is a clear sign that most cardinals would rather stick with someone who will uphold the conservative legacy of John Paul II for the time being (the term "transitional papacy" is key here).

Meanwhile, the boys at Reuters have a nice little newsbrief up and running. Some of these excerpts seem pretty biased in my opinion, however, the allegations are worth taking a look at.

Ratzinger's stern leadership of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the modern successor to the Inquisition, delighted conservative Catholics but upset moderates and other Christians whose churches he described as deficient.

Ratzinger disciplined Latin American "liberation theology" theologians, denounced homosexuality and gay marriage and pressured Asian priests who saw non-Christian religions as part of God's plan for humanity.

In a document in 2000, he branded other Christian churches as deficient -- shocking Anglicans, Lutherans and other Protestants in ecumenical dialogue with Rome for years.

Great way to get other Christians to like you...call their churches "deficient." That's not exactly what I would call "diplomatic." In any case, many are looking at his choice of name as a sign that he is willing to stray a bit from his orthodox positions.

His choice of name seemed intriguing because the last Pope Benedict, who reigned from 1914 to 1922, subtly repudiated the strict Vatican orthodoxy practiced under his predecessor Pius X, said former Vatican diplomat John-Peter Pham.

Interesting. We'll see if he surprises us with some major policy shift further down the road.