The New Pope

First things first, welcome to Pope Benedict XVI, the newly elected Pope (formerly Cardinal Ratzinger from Germany), I hope your rule in the Church is enlightened and inspired. That being said, this is my first Papal election, being that I'm only 22 and I'm very excited, and a little nervous, about our new Pope and his supposedly "hardline" ideals. John Paul II is going to be a hard act to follow because he was so legendary. Pope Benedict XVI is going to be what they call a "transitional Pope", due to his age, and I'm hoping that he can find a way to lead the Church in a direction that will allow us to continue the re-emergence that was begun under John Paul II. I'm worried about the current state of the Church. It seems that the hierarchy is somewhat out of touch with what the people need, though I'm not sure if thats the only problem and I'm not sure how having a "hardliner" will affect that. There is also the possibility that this Pope will have great foresight and be able to rise above his personal feelings, and only act in the best interest of the Church, which would be great but not some we can predict at this point. I know that the atrocities done by the small amount of Catholic priests in America have to be stopped, and that something needs to be done about the attrition of Catholics to more charismatic faiths. Hopefully our new Pope can lead us to great things, while maintaining the traditional integrity of the faithful.