Speculation mounts that Benedict XVI’s papacy to be one of the shortest

Speculation among Vatican commentators has already started to mount that Cardinal Ratzinger was voted in to pave the way for a Pope to bring the Catholic church in a new direction. It has also been said that the 78-year-old may also consider - like his predecessor - retiring at 80.

JPII had discussed with Ratzinger, both in public and private, the option of retiring at 80. He decided that such a move would create a difficulty for a new Pope to leave his mark on the Church, since, as it would already have the almost irremovable imprints of JPII all over it.

Whatever about speculation, there is one thing for sure, Benedict XVI’s papacy will be an interesting one.

The arch-conservative was formally one of the arch-progressive’s in the Church. During the sixties he was one of the first priests to wear a suit. As a man of huge intellect he wrote several important papers during Vatican II.

His path to conservatism came about when he became disillusioned with the Church’s response to pressure groups and what he described as the "me-ism’s" or the "supermarket" nature of the direction of the Church where practitioners of the faith could choose what bit of Catholicism they liked and what bit they didn’t.

It would be hard to fault him on that point of view. The Church is, after all, supposed to be about the greater good and not solely on the individual. Although, Jesus Christ’s teachings state that the greater good starts with the individual.

It was always said Ratzinger would be a steady hand that would carry on the style of JPII if he was to be elected Pope

The moral questions about homosexuality, female priests and contraception are not likely to be dealt with by Benedict XVI, thus indicating that these battles will be left for another day.