Watching The Smoke Rise

We now have a Pope; Cardinal Ratzinger of Germany is now Pope Benedict XVI. This is great news for the Church, and for peoples everywhere. Benedict has shown himself to be a strong, principled man and conservative leader, and is the candidate I was rooting for to become Il Papa. We Catholics believe the Cardinals are led by the Holy Spirit in their selections, and the conclave chose Ratzinger with unusual dispatch! I had fears; the Bible makes it clear that God sends us the leaders we deserve, and I feared God may send His judgement on us by sending us a weak, liberal Pontiff. This does not, mind you concern just Catholics, nor even just Christians. People of Faith everywhere, and even non-believers of good will are affected by the success or failure of righteousness, and history has shown that the Pope wields enormous power (Yes, Mr. Stalin, the Pope has many divisions, and they are more powerful than you could possibly imagine!) The Pope is the Spiritual leader of all Catholics, and a moral leader for the Entire World. He is admired and respected by Jews, Hindus, Moslems, and Buddhists. He is a serious force to be reckoned with; which is why the Left wanted desperately to see a ``modernist`` Pope elected. The Holy Spirit had other plans, and we have been blessed with a man of courage and faith!

Check out The Paragraph Farmer for some analysis and quotes by the new Pope. Also, a series of interesting posts by the gang at Potomac Gadfly delve into a number of issues relating to the new Pontiff. Finally, our good friend Aussiegirl has a nice post over at Ultima Thule. Be sure to check them all out!