...One Vatican official who has worked with Ratzinger over the years said on April 13, “I am absolutely sure that Ratzinger will be the next pope.”Some are probably uncomfortable with taking up the cross as well.
On the other hand, several cardinals have said privately that they’re uncomfortable with the prospect of a Ratzinger papacy.
It’s not just that some don’t believe his strong emphasis on the protection of Christian identity in a secular world ought to be the guiding light of the next papacy, but there’s also a real-world concern about the election of a figure with his “baggage.”Baggage? I suppose this word "baggage" means an unwavering adherence to the teachings of the Church and, of course, the documents which were issued from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Fairly or unfairly, Ratzinger is to some extent a lightning rod for Catholic opinion, and in a church that’s already divided, some cardinals worry about exacerbating those divisions.This problem grows worse each passing day that it is not addressed - more and more souls succumb to the shadows brought about by the divisions created by open dissent and disobedience. The exacerbation is brought to fruition by failing to address the situation. Cardinal Ratzinger is clear that there is a "cultural conflict between the Church and 'the radical emancipation of man from God and from the roots of life,' which characterizes contemporary Western culture and which 'leads in the end to the destruction of freedom.'...this....must be given absolute priority in the next pontificate."
Church leaders do the Church no good in failing to address the divisions. Will the problem simply go away if it is ignored long enough?
One [cardinal] said April 12: “I’m not sure how I would explain this [Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope] back home.”It's simple, your Emminence. One says, "This is our new Holy Father. Follow him, obey him and pray for him." There...was that so hard?
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