Hi, Cluin-
Well, I have to say I have been pleasantly surprised by Ratzinger/Benedict. He has not shown the "Rottweiler" personality that was his reputation in his previous job. I have talked with a couple people who were close to him who said that was an unfair description. They said he was a wise, gentle, cultured man with a wonderful sense of humor - and an excellent pianist, by the way.

Almost all his official speeches and writings are available at the Vatican Website, vatican.va. I find that when I read him in context, he usually makes a lot of sense. When the press boils him down to a few sound bites, he comes out sounding completely different.

I suppose he's more conservative than I would like him to be, but he seems to be far more rational than his predecessor. The Catholic Church has taken a swing to the right as a reaction against the Second Vatican Council, and lay people have been at the forefront of that rightward swing. John Paul II was very popular among Catholic lay people, but many priests and nuns of my generation felt JPII ignored them. Benedict is far more balanced, and I think he's the best successor to JPII we could hope for.

Because of his attractive personality, John Paul II could say outrageous things and get away with it. What Benedict says (if you listen to his complete statements) makes a lot more sense - but he comes off looking worse because he's a scholarly professor and not a media star like JPII was.

Benedict is not my ideal pope, but I feel much better about him than I did about John Paul II.

-Joe-