VATICAN CITY - Roman Catholic Cardinals have elected arch-conservative German cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as pope, choosing a shy, elderly theologian to defend the stern legacy of his charismatic predecessor, John Paul II.
Ratzinger took the name Pope Benedict XVI after one of the quickest conclaves of the past century in a secretive ballot that delighted traditionalists in the 1.1 billion member Church but dismayed liberals who had longed for a more moderate papacy.
"After the great Pope John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me, a simple, humble worker in the Lord's vineyard," the 78-year-old Ratzinger told cheering crowds in St Peter's Square as he made his first appearance in his new papal vestments.
In other corners of the Church, the celebrations were more muted amid fears that the silver-haired German will be too distant and too divisive to unite his huge, disparate flock.
The strict defender of Catholic orthodoxy for 23 years, Ratzinger has made clear in recent speeches that he will brook no dissent and will block debate on issues such as women priests, priestly celibacy, abortion and homosexuality.
But friends and colleagues said the world had yet to see the warmer side of a man who has been dubbed in the Italian press as the "panzer cardinal" and "God's Rottweiler".
"You have to be slow to make a judgment," said Cardinal Edward Egan of New York after the conclave, which lasted just 24 hours. "This is a really wonderful, calm, thoughtful human being."
The Church's 265th pontiff, Ratzinger is the oldest man to be elected pope for three centuries and the first German pontiff for a millennium.
He would attend a private Mass with cardinals in the Vatican's magnificent Sistine Chapel on April 20 morning at 9 am. His official inaugural Mass is set for April 24 in St Peter's Square.
Praise and trepidation
Pope Benedict was showered with congratulations from many foreign and religious leaders. US President George W Bush hailed him as "a man of great wisdom and knowledge".
In his native Germany, news of the election was greeted with both joy and trepidation. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder called Ratzinger a worthy successor to Pope John Paul, but some non-Catholics feared he would quash inter-religious dialogue.
"We consider the election of Ratzinger as a catastrophe," said Bernd Goehring of German ecumenical group Kirche von Unten. "It is very disappointing, even if it was predictable. We can expect no reform from him in the coming years."
The new pope was chosen after winning support from two-thirds of the 115 red-robed cardinals on the second day of the conclave.
Tens of thousands of Catholic faithful poured into St Peter's Square on April 19 evening when the great bells of the basilica rang out to announce the arrival of a new pope.
"Papa! Papa! Papa!", the ecstatic crowd shouted in chorus as a smiling Ratzinger walked on to the church's broad balcony and raised his arms in greeting.
But even in the emotion-charged square, some people failed to hide their disappointment that the cardinals had not opted for an all-embracing, compromise candidate.
"It's a historic moment, but a very sad one. He is even more conservative than John Paul II. All he knows how to do is condemn, condemn, condemn," said Agusti Capdevila from Barcelona.
Profile
Born in Bavaria on April 16, 1927, the son of a police chief, he served in the Hitler Youth during World War II when membership was compulsory, according to his autobiography.
But he was never a member of the Nazi party and his family opposed Adolf Hitler's regime, biographers have said.
Ratzinger later became a leading theology professor and then archbishop of Munich before taking over the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the modern-day incarnation of the Inquisition, in 1981.
His election on April 19 dashed some hopes that the new pope would come from the developing world, where two thirds of Catholics now live.
(Agencies via Xinhua)
