Popus Irritatus

Well, we have a new Pope for the Catholic Church. Incidentally, I think that "Benedict" was a name that betting houses all over the world were predicting. It's nice to know that cardinal decided to go with the high percentage name, rather than something bold and new.
It shouldn't really be any surprise that Benedict will continue the policies of John Paul II (JP3), as he was the right hand man and one of the only Cardinals left who selected JP2 26 years ago. The only reason that the guy didn't choose to be John Paul III was obvious: who wants to be referred to in the history books as John Paul the Lesser. I mean this guy is 78 years old. How long has he got? He certainly isn't going to last 25 years, or travel as much as JP2 did, so his term and effect are going to be quite a bit less than his predecessor.

I'm glad they chose someone so quickly. If for nothing else so the story would pass from the media faster. I was getting a bit tired of the headline: "Cardinals fail yet again to elect a new Pope!" Good gracious, give these guys a break. This isn't like picking the harvest queen for the local high school. This guy could be in there for a few years, appoint a few cardinals and set the direction for the largest religious body on the planet. The process has taken over a year in some cases. We live in a sound bite society.

Ok, so Joseph Ratzinger is now Benedict XVI. And the complaints are already coming in. The best roundup I've seen is from Joe Gandelman of TheModerateVoice. The barking from the left side of the sphere, and even some of the moderate voices, like Glen Reynolds, signify the problem people have with religion in this world. It doesn't bend to their idea of what God should be like.
Take this statement from Andrew Sullivan:

It would be hard to over-state the radicalism of this decision. It's not simply a continuation of John Paul II. It's a full-scale attack on the reformist wing of the church. The swiftness of the decision and the polarizing nature of this selection foretell a coming civil war within Catholicism. The space for dissidence, previously tiny, is now extinct. And the attack on individual political freedom is just beginning.

And this one from the center of all that's left, Daily Kos:

There are many reasons to criticize the election of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI, like his stances on women and gays in the church, social issues, his work in crushing liberation theology, his comments in regards to the priest sexual abuse scandals, and his generally conservative views.

Come on people. This is religion, not government or politics. It takes its rules and doctrine from the Bible, not you. I have many reasons for criticizing the Catholic Church for doctrine and traditional rules that don't jive with Biblical teaching, but the left in this country would have the church conform to their views on how the world works. Are they even Catholics themselves? Why do they care? American Catholics have this tendency to do whatever they want anyway. Having the church conform to their ideology is just their way of not feeling guilty for things they should be feeling guilty for.
It's not the job of the Pope to look at the world, decide what the moral consensus is and try to steer the church in that direction. It's the job of any religious leader to look at God's word and decide what God's moral decrees are and steer the church in THAT direction.
Good show by the Cardinals.

More quotes:
Tom Crow - First and foremost, he has been a strong defender of the Truth. No mealy-mouthed, wishy-washy, “let’s dialogue.” There are places for dialogue. Dialogue can happen on the way to best promote the Truth. But not on whether something is TRUE or “subject to interpretation.” The “Spirit of Vatican II” cannot resemble Blackmun’s “emanations from penumbra.” Ratzinger didn’t – and Benedict XVI likely won’t – let “dialogue” cloud Truth.

The Anchoress - Basically the press seems to be saying, “Oh, no! They elected a CATHOLIC! Liberals are doomed! DOOMED!”

TheGlitteringEye - Benedict XV was the pope during World War I and struggled, unsuccessfully, to bring peace (Woodrow Wilson was the only world leader who paid any attention and adopted a number of his suggestions). Benedict XV's first encyclical was a condemnation of modern philosophical systems. I haven't read Benedict XVI's statement, yet, but my preliminary take is that the College of Cardinals have decided that modernity is the most serious problem that's facing the Church right now.