Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was yesterday appointed the 265th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. As Pope Benedict XVI, he succeeds John Paul II, who died on 2 April and, like his predecessor, he is considered as a conservative.

The German Pope, who celebrated his 78th birthday only last Saturday, is seen by many as a transitional Pope, one that will be expected to follow in the footsteps of Pope John Paul II.

Considered to be a hard-line guardian of conservative doctrine, Pope Benedict XVI was deemed by many as one of the favourites to take over the helm of the Roman Catholic Church.

As dean of the College of Cardinals, which elected him yesterday, his was a prominent role in the Church following the death of the much-beloved Karol Wojtyla. His homily during Pope John Paul II’s funeral must have earned him a few points among his fellow cardinals.

Whether he will be able to earn the love that was so evident for his predecessor remains to be seen. As expected, there were cheers and signs of jubilation in his hometown, Traunstein, especially at the seminary where he studied as a youth.

But how will the rest of the world react to the new Pope, so similar in his views to his predecessor?

No doubt, those who pointed fingers at Pope John Paul II for his position on contraception, his campaigns against abortion and gay marriages as well as his opposition to women priests and non-celibate priesthood will be disappointed.

Those who are more conservative will be pleased with his election, as it is likely that he will be carrying on with what Pope John Paul II did in the 27 years of his papacy.

Pope Benedict XVI is the oldest Pope to be elected in more than a century and, as such, his venerable age makes it highly improbable that his pontificate will be long.

Whether he will be able to visit so many countries and touch the hearts of so many people as Pope John Paul II is also a question that is hard to answer. It will also be difficult for him to “replace” the charismatic figure the world was accustomed to for 27 years.

This is the main reason why the general interpretation of his election is that the Church wants a shorter pontificate, one that will allow it to gather its thoughts in the years to come before, perhaps, moving on.

The fact that he was elected on the second day of the conclave makes it amply clear that the Church was looking for someone who would not depart from the vision of Pope John Paul II.

It is too early, much too early after a 27-year papacy that changed the course of history but during which the Church did not budge from its traditional teachings, to go for someone with different views.

After all, the great majority of cardinals who took part in the two-day conclave were appointed by Pope John Paul II himself and, therefore, it was likely they would have elected someone who was close to the man from Poland, in terms of thoughts.

There will come a time when the Church will have to dig deeper and find solutions which, at this point in time, seem impossible for it to take. But the memory of John Paul II is still too fresh for the Church to make this jump.