The New Pope Looks Like Emperor Palpatine

All joking aside, this Pope promises to be one of the most conservative leaders of the Vatican in recent years. Known as "The Enforcer", Pope Benedict XVI was the one behind the communion ban on those who supported gay rights, and is one of the most conservative Vatican theologans. What will his paupacy mean for the rest of the world?


The AIDS Crisis...Again

The Vatican's official stance on condoms has long been that they violate the command to not have sex for pleasure, as it seems that if anyone doesn't want to have babies, but is still having sex, they're likely doing it for some form of enjoyment. Unfortunately, with recent reports of another AIDS crisis working its way through India, it seems as if the Vatican's abstinence policy hasn't been paying off, as more people are obviously still having sex, and perhaps due to the influence of the Vatican, without condoms. Further, the "do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do" message the Church has been sending recently due to numerous reports of fatherly abuse cases, can't help the case.

So will Pope Benedict finally change an old-world policy to keep up with increasingly dangerous times? Probably not. Pope Benedict is one of the most conservative members of the Vatican, and will follow the hard-line stance, leaving many third-world Catholics in the dust.


Israel

Pope John-Paul II was the first Pope to accept Israel not only as a worthy nation, but as a friend. He was also the first Pope to address the President of Israel by his rightful title, and visit the wailing wall. It's likely that Pope Benedict will continue this tradition, simply because John-Paul's actions earned a lot of popularity among the Jewish population, and because there is no official Church stance on it that Benedict feels obligated to follow. Especially with a road to peace being outlined with the first amounts of success in decades, Benedict will likely not upset a delicate balance in the Middle East.


Moral Values in the US and Beyond

It's obvious that Pope Benedict will follow most of the old rules about moral values: Abortion, sin. Homosexuality, sin. Stem cell research, double-sin (playing god AND killing an innocent). The only question that remains is how honestly Benedict will be able to voice his opinions. In an ever liberalizing world, Benedict is more and more on the outside. With socialisation, acceptance, and generally liberal trends continuing in Europe, he may well have to bite his tongue when it comes to these touchy issues. To be sure, American Catholics will cling to his every word, but others may feel his credibility lessened if he harps too much on issues that in Europe, are considered solved, or at least ones where the generally accepted stance is the liberal one, not the conservative line that Benedict follows.

Overall, Pope Benedict XVI will probably bring no change to the Vatican, and will likely not make any big moves. He is tied to a conservative doctrine that he's followed for to long to change. In choosing Benedict as Pope, the Vatican may have just slowed all progress down. He can't make a move towards liberalization, but at the same time, the Pope's hands are tied by the wave of liberalism sweeping across Europe and other parts of the world. In the end, we may see no changes in Vatican stance from today until his successor is chosen.