'God's Rottweiler' divides cardinals

OPPOSITION has now emerged to a German seen as a frontrunner to be the next pope, leaving Roman Catholic cardinals divided as they prepared for a conclave to elect the successor to Pope John Paul II.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - nicknamed 'God's Rottweiler' during his long tenure as the guardian of Catholic doctrine - is a polarising influence on the pre-conclave negotiations, according to Italian media reports.

Opposition to the former head of the powerful Vatican congregation for the doctrine of the faith is centring around the scholarly Carlo Maria Martini, a former archbishop of Milan.