“THIS is bad news. There will be a rebellion,” declared one well-informed insider. “Goodness me,” exclaimed another.

It is hard to see how the hand of God could have guided the 115 cardinals to elect a former member — albeit involuntary — of the Hitler Youth who believes homosexuality to be an intrinsic moral evil, other religions to be defective and other churches — including the Church of England — not proper.

Nor is he simply a transitional pope. Joseph Ratzinger, who is 78, is in excellent health.

Many of the world’s 1.1 billion Roman Catholics, particularly those in Latin American countries such as Brazil, will be dismayed by this unimaginative choice. They will see it as divisive and lacking in courage.

They regard him as a man who will continue the conservative, ultra-orthodox legacy of John Paul II, but who apparently possesses none of his charm, charisma or ability to reach out to the young.

His role as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, formerly known as the Inquisition, has not endeared him to priests, bishops and cardinals who have had the courage to step out of line even on minor issues. Some have been sharply disciplined. Catholics can expect no change in the Vatican’s ban on condoms, even in combating the Aids pandemic in the developing world.

Married priests will not be introduced during his papacy. The idea of women priests is a non-starter.

The first response from commentators within the British Church is that this is a “safe” choice, someone who will continue to resist modernist tendencies in the Church and who will enforce a strict line against any deviation from doctrine and tradition.

But there could be another side to Pope Benedict XVI. His choice of name indicates that he may focus on one particular aspect of his predecessor’s activities — his antiwar stance.

Benedict XV worked strenuously for peace during the First World War as Pope John Paul II did with little success before and during the Iraq war. It could be that the new Pope will bring a new advocacy to that mission.

It is often the case, in large organisations, that those who aspire to the top job have to adopt certain practices and behaviours. Cardinal Ratzinger certainly showed himself eminently skilled at ecclesiastical politics during the last few days and months, if not years.

Popes can turn out better as well as worse than expected, and now he has won the papacy, a more charismatic and sympathetic priest may emerge from behind that stern exterior.

After all, as a young man he had a reputation as something of a liberal, and although it is frequently mentioned that he was briefly a member of the Hitler Youth, we must not forget that membership in wartime Germany was compulsory. Indeed, his family was opposed to the Nazis. Maybe his progressive radicalism will re-emerge now he is in Pope.

In 1963 Cardinal Ratzinger wrote the famous speech for Cardinal Frings, Archbishop of Cologne, which denounced the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith as a “cause of scandal to the world” because of its antiquated methods. As a result, Paul VI instructed the Vatican’s doctrinal enforcers to reverse their priorities and encourage good theology rather than crack down on the bad.

Cardinal Ratzinger has been hard on theologians, and the traditional bond between theologians and bishops has been seriously damaged. He is so closely associated with the papacy of John Paul II and its centralising tendencies that it is hard to see how he can lead the healing process now required — but perhaps he was simply following the Pope’s lead.

It is also conceivable, seeing the way that the white smoke was blowing, that Cardinal Ratzinger simply adopted the persona of a ruthless conservative in order to rise to the top, and will now use his new power and freedom to usher in an era of enlightenment.

Then again, maybe not. After all, is the Pope a Catholic?

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