ANALYSIS: The 'tough guy' option: Picking a pope to serve as sheriff
A poster of Pope Benedict XVI on the streets of Rome. The conclave to pick a new pope will begin on Tuesday (March 12) the Vatican said Friday, resolving an open question that had dogged the cardinals meeting here over the past week. RNS photo by David Gibson
VATICAN CITY (RNS) One reason why conservatives are seeking a hard-liner pope is that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger turned out to be more of a papal pussycat as Pope Benedict XVI than the watchdog of orthodoxy that he had been for decades under John Paul II.