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April 20, 2005Selection pleases traditional CatholicsPriest: Benedict XVI has good mind, heartByand Record-Eagle staff writers PETOSKEY - The Rev. Dennis Stilwell was sitting down to lunch when he turned on the television and saw white smoke coming from the Vatican's chimney. "I was surprised and delighted," said Stilwell, who leads St. Francis Xavier Church in Petoskey. In Elk Rapids, the Rev. Robert Zuchowski rang the bells at Sacred Heart Church in jubilation when he heard the news of a new pope. Both men said Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, will lead the church well. "He cannot fill the shoes of Pope John Paul II. No one expects him to," Stilwell said. "He will be a pope in his own right." Stilwell said he considers the relatively short conclave a good sign that Pope Benedict XVI has the church's support. Zuchowski called the new pontiff one of the Catholic church's most knowledgeable theologians, a man with a great mind and great heart. He said he wasn't surprised by the cardinals' choice. "He looked like a pope," Zuchowski said. "He looked jubilant. I'm delighted with the news." Both priests said the new pope's age wasn't a cause for concern. Pope Benedict XVI turned 78 on Saturday. Stilwell said the selection could be a sign the cardinals were looking for an interim pope. Ed Hahnenberg of Lake Leelanau said the election of Ratzinger means the church is "staying the course." The retired teacher and author of several books on theology called Benedict XVI the "theologian behind John Paul II." Hahnenberg said the new pope likely won't soften the church's stance on women in the clergy, abortion or the marriage of priests. "A lot of Catholic liberals are going to be very disappointed in this pope," he said. "That is not to say the conservatives are - they are delighted." Hahnenberg was in Rome a few weeks ago and saw John Paul II on Palm Sunday and witnessed his sharp decline in health. He said the quick election of a pope points to the church's unity. That cardinals selected a pope so closely connected to his predecessor shows the amount of "personal love that the world had" for John Paul II. "He (Benedict XVI) is not going to be as charismatic as John Paul II, he will be as conservative ... ," Hahnenberg said. "This is remarkable to see a transition of power, so to speak, and authority in the church passed so briefly."
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