ardinal Joseph Ratzinger, German prelate and head of the Vatican office that enforces doctrinal conformity and orthodoxy, was selected as pope earlier this week and promptly assumed the name Benedict XVI.

   Minutes later, he stepped onto a balcony of St. Peter's Basilica where he was greeted by a cheering crowd of tens of thousands of followers. The new pontiff then delivered a blessing and described himself as "a simple, humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord."

   "The fact that the Lord can work and act even with insufficient means consoles me and above all I entrust myself to your prayers," Ratzinger, the 265th pope declared. The crowd responded with chants of "Benedict! Benedict!"

   Telegrams from U.S. and other world leaders poured into the Vatican, all with a similar enthusiastic tone praising the new pontiff.

   But there were concerns that the man who headed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office charged with enforcing religious orthodoxy, may be even more hard-line on social issues and church teachings than his avuncular predecessor, John Paul II. Ratzinger has been dubbed "God's Rotweiler" for his stern pronouncements on issues such as equal rights for gays, abortion rights and secular institutions. Associated Press quoted Sister Jeannie Gramick of New Ways Ministry, a group addressing the needs of Catholic gays and lesbians, as saying that Ratzinger's selection as pope will be "devastating."

   Others are warning that the new pontiff's goal to "re-convert" Europe and undermine its secular institutions, as well as raise the profile of Catholicism in the Middle East could intensify the "clash of civilizations" and fuel Islamic extremist movements.

   The former pontiff, John Paul II, was a Catholic conservative but still managed to maintain a modicum of popular support especially in his homeland of Poland. Ratzinger, though, is perceived by many as more divisive. According to Associated Press writer Melissa Eddy, the new pope "alienated some Roman Catholics with his zeal enforcing church orthodoxy," and earned scorn for his policies preventing priests from giving pregnant teens birth control and abortion information, and even banning them from joint ecumenical gatherings.

   He also clashed with dissenters within church ranks such as the prominent theologian Hans Kuegn (Kuhn), who helped Ratzinger obtain a post at the University of Tuebingen. Many saw Ratzinger as the man behind the Vatican's move to revoke his license to teach in 1979.

   And Ratzinger's hostility toward modernity, secularism and Enlightenment values may be reflected in his remarks yesterday during a mass dedicated to selecting the next pontiff. Ratzinger singled out a laundry list of doctrinal and political taboos, including liberalism, Atheism, "extreme individualism" and "relativism," the ideology which he charged vitiated the notion that there were "no absolute truths."

   Ratzinger also has an "interesting" background which has led some to question his life as a teenager in Germany during the Nazi era. He was enrolled in the Hitler Youth movement at age 14 when membership for youngsters was compulsory. In his memoirs, Ratzinger says that he left the organization to pursue studies in the priesthood. In 1943, he was drafted into the military to work with an anti-aircraft unit, but barely completed basic training.

   This background, along with his stern, patriarchal embrace of doctrinal orthodoxy quickly gained Ratzinger a variety for disparaging titles even from church peers including "The Enforcer" and "Panzerkardinal." Britain's Guardian newspaper suggested prior to the latest Vatican conclave that "Ratzinger's wartime past may return to haunt him..."

   It may be the new pope's attitudes, though, about modernity and modernization within the church that generate concern even among Catholic reformists. In addition to clashing with dissenters like Kuegn (Kuhn) and later reining-in reformist priests, he "hurt many people and far overstepped his boundaries in Germany," said Christian Wiesner of the Wir Sind Kirche ("We Are Church") movement. Ratzinger himself felt "out of step" with the cosmetic reforms of the Vatican II movement, and wrote in his autobiography: "More and more there was the impression that nothing stood fast in the church, that everything was up for revision."

   The Congregation traces its origins to the entity which oversaw the notorious Inquisition. But he also gained a reputation as a reactionary beyond the walls of the Holy See. Ratzinger and fellow conservative prelates joined the condemnation of any activities critical of religious belief, and even supported demands from Islamic leaders in 1986 that Salman Rushdie's controversial novel "The Satanic Verses" be banned. (In his fictional book, Rushdie allegedly made remarks insulting of the Muslim faith. Iran's Ayatollah Ruollah Khomeni issued a fatwa" or death sentence, and demanded that the book be censored. Many Catholic, Protestant and Jewish leaders concurred, saying the novel showed "disrespect" for religion.)

   Ratzinger has also been a vocal supporter of orthodoxy, even at the cost of stereotyping sincere reformists and other religionists. In 1987 he offended Jews by declaring that their history and religious texts could only reach true fulfillment if they accepted Christ. Three years later he insulted Protestants by describing their religion as "deficient." He also established himself as the leading opponent of "relativism," which he defined as "letting oneself be tossed and swept along by every wind of teaching..."

   Ratzinger added, "We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one's own ego and one's own desires." The future pontiff declared, "Having a clear faith, based on the creed of the church, is often labeled today as a fundamentalism."

   The new pontiff's crusade against "relativism" may conceal a more sinister distain for robust civil liberties and human rights. In 1986, for instance, Ratzinger instructed fellow prelates that homosexuality was a "tendency" toward an "intrinsic moral evil.

   "Neither the church nor society should be surprised," Ratzinger added if "irrationality and violent reactions increase" in the wake of gays or other groups demanding their fair share of social freedom. More ominous was his statement in 1992 that civil rights could be "legitimately limited" by government in order to enforce sectarian beliefs and moral codes.

    ¶       Opposition to family planning, birth control and abortion rights for women.

    ¶       Efforts to undermine he integrity and independence of secular institution, including governments.

    ¶       A geopolitical strategy to "retake" Europe, which the Vatican sees as both a bastion of secularism and fertile ground for Muslim conversion.

    ¶       The re-establishment of Roman Catholic cultural-political hegemony throughout the former Eastern Europe and Soviet Union. This has resulted in clashes with the Russian Orthodox Church and efforts to stigmatize Protestant and other religious groups as "sects" unworthy of recognition by governments.

    ¶       Political power in the United States under the guise of "life issues" (abortion, contraception, euthanasia); efforts to obtain widespread financial aid to Roman Catholic schools, especially in light of declining enrollment; heightened demands to censor media and "cleanse" the culture of profane depictions of religion.

    ¶       Opposition to a robust empowerment of women (banning contraception) and promoting the view that, first and foremost, females have a destiny based on "natural law" to breed and raise children with other goals (career, intellectual development) secondary to this.

    ¶       An evangelizing effort throughout Asia and particularly Latin America where Protestant, Mormon and even crank New Age beliefs are finding a growing and enthusiastic audience.

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