Pope Benedict XVI - Liberals alienated by election

THE election of German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI has effectively stamped the papal seal of conservatism on the governance of the Catholic Church for the foreseeable future.

Though he is a shy, retiring, disarmingly simple and reserved man, he is nonetheless regarded as a watchdog of doctrinal conservatism and an uncompromising defender of orthodoxy.

For the many Catholics who had feared a drift towards liberalism in the wake of the election he is an ideal choice as successor to the late Pope. Indeed, John Paul II had ruled the Church with an iron fist for the best part of 27 years under the theological guidance of the man who now ascends the throne of Peter.