Pope Culture

New Pope Joy, via cnn.com, originally uploaded by haileydai.

So, there's a new pope. His papal name is Benedict the 16th, though his real name is Joseph Ratzinger. I'm no expert on Roman Catholicism, but here's what I found on CNN.com about the new pontiff:

"As a young priest he was on the progressive side of theological debates but shifted to the right after the student revolutions of 1968.

In the Vatican, he has been the driving force behind crackdowns on liberation theology, religious pluralism, and challenges to traditional teachings on issues such as homosexuality, and dissent on other issues like the ordination of women."

For anyone hoping for a progressive Pope, it doesn't look good.

There will likely be days of exhaustive media coverage of this whole business, maybe even more debate about the colour of the smoke. Either way, there will be more info to come.