Disappointment for Mexicans, joy for Iraq's Chaldeans

• April 20, 2005 |Tel Aviv | 11:30 a.m. ET

Israeli leaders praise pope for condemning anti-Semitism

Martin Fletcher

If any country would be upset by the Nazi youth of the German pontiff it would be Israel.

Yet, the response has been the opposite. Israeli politicians and rabbis have been unanimous in their praise and acceptance of Benedict XVI who they say has a long and honorable record of condemning anti-Semitism.

"The Jews have nothing to worry about," the Tel Aviv chief rabbi Israel Meir Lau, a Nazi concentration camp survivor who last year heard then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger deliver a speech against anti-Semitism in New York, told Reuters.

Newspaper editorials point out that when he joined Nazi Germany’s Hitler Youth, it was compulsory. And he was never an active member. Their hope is that he will be as supportive of the Jews as his predecessor Pope John Paul II, who Israel saw as the most supportive pope ever.

Muslims have a different take. They want the new pope to take a more active role in bringing about a solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict than John Paul.

But both sides recognize that as Benedict XVI has a conservative record it is unlikely he will busy himself with Mideast politics beyond doing what Pope John Paul did - issue periodic appeals for calm and peace.

• April 20, 2005 |Mainz| 08:00 a.m. ET

Andy Eckardt

Even though Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had been widely regarded as one of the main candidates for the papacy before and even during the conclave, most Germans were surprised to see their countryman was elected the new spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

In the past, Germany's 26 million Catholics had been divided over the arch-conservative cardinal, who is expected to defend John Paul's orthodox legacy. Many had hoped for a more liberal pope.

The moderator of Germany's ARD television morning show opened up the program by saying "There seems to be joy in Germany, but no euphoria.”

Interviews in the streets of Cologne reflected this notion. "I am somewhat surprised, but joyful. I think he will be a competent pope," one man said. "We are living in times of change, in which we might need a bit more constancy," another told reporters.

Yet, there were also critical voices. "He is simply too conservative and too old," a young man said.

And even the 81-year-old brother of Benedict XVI, Georg Ratzinger, questioned whether the cardinals in Rome had made the right decision.

"I was startled last night because I thought his age would be a reason not to vote for him," Ratzinger said. "And even after a good night's sleep, I am still ambivalent to his election," Georg Ratzinger said on German television.

One of Joseph Ratzinger's strongest critics, liberal theologian Hans Kueng, whose license to teach theology was revoked by the Vatican in 1979, was disappointment but also wished the new pope well.

Kerstin Joensson / AP Sisters Sr. Imelda, Sr. Anna Mirian and Sr. Reverend Mother Bernadet, from left, at the Roman Catholic seminar in Traunstein, southern Germany, on Tuesday, toast to each other as they celebrate the election of German Cardinal Ratzinger, a frequent guest at the seminar.

"When I met Ratzinger, he was always friendly and pleasant, but he can also be very cold," Kueng said. "But, no matter how we see him, let's give him a chance," Kueng added.

Despite a recent poll in Germany's Der Spiegel weekly magazine, which showed that 36 percent of Germans opposed Ratzinger becoming pope, while 29 percent favored him, many Germans believe that Ratzinger could surprise his critics in his new role.

And, it seems as if pride could soon outweigh the criticism. Germans are slowly realizing that -- for the first time in almost 500 years -- the world has a German pope.

On Tuesday, Germany's mass circulation newspaper BILD expressed a feeling which many people in Germany might be reluctant to show, when it dedicated its entire front page to a smiling Pope Benedict XVI with the headline shouting, "Our Joseph Ratzinger is Benedict XVI. We are pope!"

MORE FROM POPE REMEMBERED

Pope remembered Section Front

Images: Final farewell for Pope John Paul II   Images: A historic papacy   Images: Paying respects to late pontiff   Images: Mourning Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II remembered NBC: Perhaps ‘Saint John Paul? Benedict watches movie about John Paul II Live Vote: Sainthood for John Paul? Quiz: How much do you remember? Pope remembered Section Front   Add Pope remembered headlines to your news reader: