By continuity divided?

IN the battle for the soul of the Roman Catholic church, the conservatives have emerged the clear winners. The election as pope of German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, in only the second day of the conclave, represents a decisive victory for those who wish to cement the legacy of his predecessor.

Cardinal Ratzinger was not just John Paul II's right hand man, his "enforcer", but he was also his spiritual soul-mate, sharing hardline views on women priests, abortion, contraception and homosexuality, as well as on the rigid central discipline imposed on the worldwide church by the Vatican. As Benedict XVI, the new pope can be expected to continue that course.

His election will be a blow to the church's liberal wing, which saw the Vatican increasingly drifting away from the views of many Catholics, particularly in Western Europe and North America, and who looked for a less centralised church and one which tolerated a greater diversity of opinion.

There had been speculation that the liberals would gather around Cardinal Carlo Martini, former archbishop of Milan. Although he is 78 and was regarded as too ill to become pope himself, his was a symbolic candidacy, perhaps paving the way for an alternative to a hardliner to emerge. But in the end this tactic, if it was ever adopted, came to naught, and the conservative wing proved too powerful.

Although he was a favourite going into the conclave - the secret gathering of cardinals which elects the next pope - there was speculation that, also at 78, Cardinal Ratzinger was seen as too old to become the head of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics, and instead would play a kingmaker role.

But by opting for the man who presided over John Paul's funeral and has been the most prominent cardinal over the last two weeks, the conclave chose continuity over revitalisation, coming down on the side of those who looked for a transitional pontificate, perhaps a short-term one, after the 27-year reign of Karol Wojtyla.

It was that 27-year reign, the third longest of all popes, which meant all but two of the 115 cardinal electors had been appointed by John Paul, helping to ensure his successor would be very much in his mould. Ironically, Joseph Ratzinger was one of those two, elevated to cardinal by Pope Paul VI in 1977.

Joseph Ratzinger was born on April 16, 1927, in the town of Marktl am Inn in Bavaria. The son of a police officer, at 14 he was compelled to join the Hitler Youth, although he was apparently an enthusiastic member. At 16, along with the rest of his class, he was drafted into the anti-aircraft corps, responsible for guarding a BMW plant outside Munich.

A year later he was sent for basic infantry training and then posted to work on anti-tank defences in Hungary, but later deserted and returned to Germany, risking being shot on the spot or publicly hanged had he been discovered. He was briefly held in a prisoner of war camp when the Allies advanced into Germany.

After his release, he entered a Catholic seminary, and in 1951 was ordained a priest, along with his brother Georg. He obtained a doctorate in theology in 1953 and much of his subsequent, pre-cardinal career was spent teaching at universities and schools of philosophy.

During this time he is said to have felt out of step with the liberal theologians who largely held sway in the universities, believing there was a need to hold fast to core doctrines, despairing of the tendency towards compromise and revision. His alienation was exacerbated by the wave of student protests of the 1960s.

But his university posts brought him to the attention of the church hierarchy in Germany, and in 1962, at the age of 35, he was appointed an advisor to the Archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Joseph Frings, at the Second Vatican Council. He was also a prolific author, publishing lessons on faith among other works.

In March 1977 he was chosen by Paul VI to become Archbishop of Munich and Freising, and three months later was elevated to cardinal. But his pastoral career was to be brief, for in 1981 he was chosen by John Paul II as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican's principal doctrinal body and formerly known as the Holy Office of the Inquisition.

It was in this role that he earned the title of the Pope's "enforcer", or, less kindly, "God's Rottweiler" and the "Panzerkardinal". He was assiduous in rooting out departures from orthodoxy and clamping down on dissent, and was said to see his role as defending Catholic teaching from liberal encroachment. He has also been Dean of the College of Cardinals since 2002.

His zeal has given him a reputation as a divisive figure, not least for claiming the pre-eminence of the Catholic Church above other Christian denominations. He has also been blamed for preventing German Catholics from sharing communion with Lutherans at an ecumenical gathering in 2003 and a decree preventing Catholic priests from counselling pregnant teenagers on their options. He called for pro-abortion candidates to be denied communion during last year's US presidential election campaign, described homosexuality as "an intrinsic moral evil" and said rock music could be a "vehicle of anti-religion". He has also sparred with moderates who have urged the church to become less centralised.

His conservative views may strike a chord with the growing Roman Catholic congregation in Africa and Latin America, but there are fears that they are becoming increasingly detached from Western Europe and North America. Even in his native Germany, the new pontiff is a divisive figure - a recent poll put opponents of him becoming pope outnumbering supporters by 36 per cent to 29 - in contrast to his predecessor's relationship with his native Poland.

But he is also a formidable intellectual, said to relish scientific arguments, is fluent in several languages, including English, and is an accomplished pianist with a liking for Beethoven.

And, as Benedict XVI, he now has the task of uniting the divergent wings of the church under his leadership. As the eighth German pope, his election could also be seen as representing a reconciliation over the crimes of the Nazi era.

For those who believe John Paul II was right to stifle debate over contentious issues such as abortion and the role of women in the church, and to exert a strong grip on the worldwide church, his successor brings reassurance and comfort. For those who believe the Church must adapt to local circumstances if it is to thrive, with more responsibility in the hands of the bishops, the battle may have been lost, and the future is not quite so heartening.