c. 2005 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) With the election of a cardinal known as “God’s Rottweiler,” liberal American Catholics are bracing for the worst. Nonetheless, they’re hoping Pope Benedict XVI won’t be as doctrinaire and conservative as advertised, particularly toward women and gays.

“We would be very pleased if the new pope would tone down the virulence of the anti-GLBT (gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgendered) rhetoric, and give the tones of love and inclusion a chance to be heard,” said Sam Sinnett, president of the gay Catholic group Dignity USA.

But, given German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s statement that gay marriage is “destructive for the family and for society,” and his pronouncement that homosexual behavior is an “intrinsic moral evil,” others aren’t holding their breath.

“Today, the princes of the Roman Catholic Church elected as pope a man whose record has been one of unrelenting, venomous hatred for gay people,” said Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and a Catholic.

Even for non-Catholics, Ratzinger’s hard-line approach to gay issues seems frightening.

“He is perhaps the biggest homophobe in Europe,” said Mel White, a non-Catholic who heads the gay rights group Soulforce. “We couldn’t have had worse news. This man is taking us back to the days of the Inquisition.”

During his debut as a young theologian during the Second Vatican Council from 1962 to 1965, Ratzinger exhibited a relatively progressive streak, but he turned conservative when he was troubled by the student uprisings in the late 1960s.

“I’m hoping this pope will surprise us” by reconnecting with the progressive sensibilities he expressed as a younger man, said the Rev. Donald Cozzens, a religious studies professor and author at John Carroll University in Ohio.

In the years since, however, Ratzinger has honed a decidedly conservative approach, serving as Pope John Paul II’s doctrinal watchdog and disciplinarian for nearly a quarter-century.

In his role as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Ratzinger lashed out at dissident theologians and rebellious Catholics, and closed the door on any discussion of any topic that strayed too far from the official line.

“I think that it will only be a matter of days before quarters within the church that have fallen under his investigatory eye will begin speaking of the chilling effect his papacy might have,” said Diana Eck, director of the Pluralism Project at Harvard University.

He has shown little tolerance for any talk of opening the priesthood to women. Ratzinger excommunicated Dagmar Celeste, a former Ohio first lady, and six other women who underwent an illicit ordination ceremony in 2002.

“I have absolutely no hard feelings toward this man or the church,” Celeste said. “As Catholics, we believe that these elections are not just politics. There is God’s hand in it.”

She held out optimism for the new pope.

“As all older people do, he will return to his roots,” she said, adding that his roots are democratic.

After the clergy sexual abuse scandal erupted in Boston in 2002, the pope transferred jurisdiction to Ratzinger, who reviewed whether accused priests should be stripped of their ordination.

While some accused the Vatican of stalling on reforms, Ratzinger also agreed to investigate allegations against the Rev. Marciel Macial, founder of the Legion of Christ, and a close friend of John Paul II.

“Some Catholics will be discouraged because of his reputation for authoritarianism, but we’re trying to just remain optimistic and hopeful,” said David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “His nickname is `God’s Rottweiler,’ and we hope that he brings that tenacity to the issue of children’s safety in the church.”

Some lay reformers are trying to withhold judgment, at least for now. Jim Post, president of Boston-based Voice of the Faithful, a lay group that emerged from the abuse scandal with calls for increased lay involvement, said the new pope _ at age 78 _ may not be in the job for long.

“The most important factor that influences all of the cardinals is their judgment of the holiness of the man, and clearly the cardinals were convinced that he had the right spirituality for the early years of the 21st century,” Post said. “Clearly they have faith that he will be a good bridge-builder, and we shall see.”

_ David Briggs of The Plain Dealer of Cleveland contributed to this report.

MO/PH END GAMACHE