News of the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to the papacy brought mixed reactions on campus as students were torn between feelings of excitement and disappointment over Pope Benedict XVI.
"He isn't the person that I was hoping would be chosen," said Chuck Joseph, A&S '07, who is worried that Benedict will focus too much on maintaining Catholic identity and not enough on moving forward.
Rachel Held, A&S '07, agrees that a conservative stance may be needed after the church's sex scandal, but she expressed similar concerns about the pope's clearly defined focus on church doctrine.
"If the church wants progress it needs to change its top priority, and not be a stickler for orthodoxy when there are so many more important problems going on in the world," she said.
Others are encouraged by this emphasis on traditional values.
"I think it's a very good choice because he is very conservative with the church doctrine," said Daniel Grejdus, A&S '07. "You can't rewrite the Gospel."
"I think that it's a great choice to continue the legacy of Pope John Paul II," said Ray Jeandron, CSOM '06. "One of John Paul II's strongest traits was that he ardently defended the faith from being changed by society. Ratzinger will continue the philosophy where the church tries to change society rather than society changing the church."
Matt Bair, A&S '06, is intent on separating Benedict from John Paul II's legacy.
"No one else would be like John Paul II and no one else should be. As much as he had a legacy, he would be the first to say he didn't want it to be his legacy but rather the legacy of the church. They are all successors of the legacy of Peter."
Grejdus has already bought five of Ratzinger's books, and believes that John Paul II would have strongly supported him, had he indicated a preference beforehand.
"It's ironic that the next World Youth Day is in Germany, which is his home country. It gives the feeling that John Paul II foresaw this happening," he said.
Students agreed on several of Benedict's key strengths, like his intellect, humility, and kindness, and were likewise concerned about his age as a weakness.
"He's highly educated and a really brilliant theologian," said Joseph, who was encouraged by Benedict's speech that he was a humble servant.
"His age is definitely a weakness, and he's not going to be able to travel as much as John Paul II," said Jeandron. "It's pretty clear that given his age, he's perceived as a transition pope, to continue the work that John Paul II did."
"I'm kind of torn because I know that the church needed to elect someone in transition," said Matt Pierson, A&S '05. "I also know that on top of that people feel this puts a halt to the progress made in terms of the church maturing as an institution."
No matter how students feel about the decision to elect Ratzinger, they are aware that this is a crucial time for the Catholic community to come together in support of him.
"There is definitely a division in people's reactions, and he knows about it, but it's only a problem if we make it a problem," said Joseph. "We need to trust the cardinals until he proves us otherwise. The burden falls on us in that regard."
Pierson agreed. "The bottom line is that he is very intelligent and [a] very holy man, so Catholics need to recognize that this is part of the divine plan for the church," he said.
"I think that all Catholics should rest assured that the Holy Spirit guided the cardinals to choose Ratzinger," said Jeandron.
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