Latest from Rome and beyond

• DISAPPOINTMENT IN U.S. | 7:55 p.m. ET

As a Roman Catholic cardinal, Pope Benedict XVI warned American voters against departing from church teaching at the ballot box, drew criticism from victims of clerical sex abuse and opposed married or women priests.

U.S. Catholics may come to admire the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger for his intellect, spirituality and consistent support for the traditions of their faith.

But as with John Paul II, the majority of American Catholics seem certain to diverge from him on numerous policy issues.

“In America, he has many avid supporters, but many who are not so keen on the power he has wielded,” says Chester Gillis, theology chairman at Georgetown University. His elevation “is not going to be received unequivocally with great admiration by all American Catholics — no question about that.”

• DISAPPOINTMENT IN THE THIRD WORLD | 7 p.m. ET

From the shanty-covered hillsides of Tegucigalpa to the cosmopolitan streets of Buenos Aires and dusty villages in Africa, hopes had been high that the new pope would be someone intimately tied to the developing world and its challenges.

Disappointment was evident when German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, was chosen instead.

“I would have liked someone different: younger, with new ideas and perhaps with darker skin like us,” said Alfonso Mercado, an ice cream seller in Pereira, Colombia.

In Africa, the Vatican’s announcement dashed hopes for those who were pulling for Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria.

In Onitsha, the city in southeastern Nigeria where Arinze once was bishop, people gathered in restaurants and shops — wherever they could find a television — to watch the announcement.

Mary Ekpe, a 30-year-old Nigerian banker, said she never really expected an African pope to be elected. "I know Europeans and Americans are not ready for that yet,” Ekpe said. “But I thought they would’ve elected somebody from Latin America.”

• SOME PAPAL BETTORS WIN BIG | 5:50 p.m. ET

When Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope, he wasn't the only winner. Thousands worldwide placed bets on him through the Web — and an inspired few hundred even correctly guessed he'd take the name Benedict.

Among a handful of Internet-based bookmakers who offered odds on the next pope, the biggest player was Paddy Power PLC, the No. 1 bookie in Ireland,

Minutes after Benedict XVI appeared in St. Peter's Square, Paddy Power was collecting — or paying out — on more than 10,000 bets totaling more than $260,000.

The biggest winners: Someone who put down $1,050 Saturday on a Ratzinger victory at odds of 6 to 1, which meant a payout of $7,350; and somebody else who waged $260 on the new pontiff's taking Benedict, which at 3-to-1 odds meant $1,050 back.

• HINTS OF PAPACY COULD COME SOON | 4:55 p.m. ET

Pope Benedict XVI will be formally installed Sunday, but hints of what his papacy will mean for the world’s 1.1 billion Roman Catholics could come as early as Wednesday in his homily at Mass, which the Vatican said would be delivered in Latin.

In the first homily of John Paul II after his election in 1978, the newly elected pope seized the moment to impress the faithful with his now-famous phrase: “Don’t be afraid.” John Paul directed it at all Catholics, but believers in his native Poland — then struggling to shake off communist rule — took his words especially to heart.

• PRESIDENT BUSH PRAISES RATZINGER | 3:45 p.m. ET

President Bush joins other world leaders in praising the choice of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the new pope, calling him a "man of great wisdom and knowledge."

"He's a man who serves the Lord," Bush tells reporters at the White House.

• DISCIPLINED NUN SPEAKS OUT | 3:08 p.m. ET

A Roman Catholic nun in Maryland who was ordered by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to stop ministering to gays and lesbians tells the Associated Press that his election as pope is "devastating" for those who believe the Catholic Church needs to be more tolerant on social issues such as homosexuality.

Sister Jeannine Gramick says the choice of Ratzinger, who as the Vatican's guardian of doctrine silenced her and Father Robert Nugent in a 1999 order, will likely prevent the church from "moving into the 21st century and out of the Middle Ages."

"It does not bode well for people who are concerned for lesbian and gay people in the church," she said.

• GERMAN CATHOLICS DIVIDED | 2:41 p.m. ET

The Associated Press reports that opinion about former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger remains deeply divided in Germany, a sharp contrast to John Paul, who was revered in his native Poland. A recent poll for Der Spiegel news weekly said Germans opposed to Ratzinger becoming pope outnumbered supporters 36 percent to 29 percent, with 17 percent having no preference. The poll of 1,000 people, taken April 5-7, gave no margin of error.

• DINING WITH THE CARDINALS | 2:18 p.m. ET

The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI will dine Tuesday night with the cardinals in the Vatican hotel.

• INAUGURAL MASS SCHEDULED | 2 p.m. ET

Reuters quotes the Vatican as saying that Pope Benedict XVI will hold his official inaugural Mass on Sunday at 10 a.m. (4 a.m. ET).

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