The selection of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger as pope today signals a desire among the leadership within the Catholic church to stay the course. Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, was one of Pope John Paul II's most important intellectual advisors and has taken many of the same traditional, conservative stances regarding theology. He has been forceful in his support of traditional church teachings and in his opposition to gay marriage and women entering the priesthood. He has also come out and condemned the rise of relativism in society and has criticized some factions within the church for their drift away from traditional Catholicism.
The fact that Pope Benedict XVI is seventy-eight years old also emphasizes the fact that the church is not looking for a new direction but rather a man who will carry on the legacy of John Paul II for the time being. Benedict XVI's pontificate will obviously be much shorter than his predecessor's and it is obvious that he was not chosen to lead a new generation within the Catholic church. Benedict XVI will likely simply try to tend the legacy of his predecessor while the church worldwide tries to decide where it wants to go in the coming generation.
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