Personally, I am highly disappointed with Joseph Ratzinger being elevated to Pope. You have a person who as Cardinal was extremely rigid and rule-bound, an archconservative in an era where the Church needs to realize the modern world.
A group of us current and raised Catholics were discussing the deliberations at work and we all said ANYONE but Ratzinger. His previous role suited him perfectly, but we all wanted a moderate as Pope to correct much of JPII's moral extremism.
I was hoping more a more moderate choice, particularly one with more sophistication. Christoph Schoenborn of Vienna was my favorite. A moderate to conservative, he is related to several European royal families, giving him a degree of class and connections that I believe is desirable in a modern Pope.
Priests were allowed to marry for hundreds of years, eventually changing due to competition with the monastic orders and to relieve issues of church property being left to the families of priests. I believe they should be again allowed to marry, to allow them a greater understanding of their congregations and attract more into the priesthood. I also believe women should be allowed to become priests and rise in other ordained positions.
