Vatican City - Pope Benedict acted to preserve the legacy of John Paul on Thursday as details emerged of how he swept to an overwhelming victory in a secret conclave.
Benedict --a close doctrinal ally of Pope John Paul -- made clear on the third day of his papacy that he would stick to his predecessor's conservative policies when he confirmed top posts at the head of the Vatican government.
The cardinals' vote for German Joseph Ratzinger, John Paul's doctrinal enforcer for 23 years, showed they wanted continuity and rejected a reformist change of course.
As Benedict XVI settled into power as head of the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics, interviews and leaks from conclave cardinals made clear that he had built up strong momentum even before the election began, outmaneuvering moderate opposition. Ratzinger went into the conclave on Monday as favorite but many Vatican experts felt he was too divisive and too old, at 78, to win. They expected an alternative to emerge.
One of the swiftest conclaves in a century suggested he instead decisively consolidated his position in the first three voting sessions before winning in the fourth on Tuesday.
Italian newspapers, considered to have the best inside track on events inside the secret meeting, agreed that Ratzinger garnered well over the two thirds, or 77, votes he needed from the 115 voting cardinals.
Some suggested he won more than 100.
The votes reflected the desire by the princes of the Church for an uncompromising and capable leader to face the myriad challenges of the 21st century.
SKILFUL ADMINISTRATOR
Several cardinals suggested that a key factor in Ratzinger's election was his skilful administration in the period after John Paul died on April 2 and his reputation as a tough and uncompromising defender of traditional doctrine.
"Cardinal Ratzinger was a possibility right from the beginning. His was a strong presence. He was the dean of the sacred college (of cardinals), he made the address during the funeral, he delivered the homily at the (pre-conclave) Mass," said Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn
"We all felt that he was one of our brothers with superior qualities," he told the Rome daily La Repubblica.
The cardinals were also worried that a long conclave and extended vacuum would worsen perceptions of a divided church.
Ratzinger's homily at a Mass immediately before the conclave began was seen by some Vatican experts as almost a stump speech that further solidified support behind him. In his homily, Ratzinger told cardinals they must defend traditional doctrine and reject modern trends and ideologies. This struck a deep chord not only among the 115 cardinal electors, all but two of them appointed by John Paul, but with traditionalist Catholics who see Benedict as the right man to defend the Church in a time of divisions and difficulty. "The Church has found its man once again. I don't think there was anyone else in the Sistine Chapel that equaled him as a theologian, a pastor and a man of great intuition," said Spanish Bishop Cipriano Calderon Polo.
"Orthodox Catholics have cause for great celebration," said William Donohue, president of the U.S.-based Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. "Those who are not delighted need to do some real soul searching."
THEOLOGIANS REJECT CRITICISM
Many theologians rejected the negative reaction to Benedict's election among liberal Catholics, particularly in America, who see him as a hardline doctrinal enforcer. In his first official speech on Wednesday, Benedict reached out to other faiths and cultures and cardinals said he would show a softer human image now he was Pope.
Italian newspapers said that when the first conclave vote was taken on Monday evening, Ratzinger and the moderates' standard-bearer, former Milan archbishop Carlo Maria Martini, were running almost neck-and-neck on around 40 votes.
Martini, 78, who has a form of Parkinson's disease, was seen as a stalking horse rather than the final candidate, but opponents of Ratzinger, led by fellow German Cardinals Karl Lehmann and Walter Kasper, were unable to mobilize support for another moderate after Monday's vote.
At the same time, large blocks of uncommitted votes controlled by "kingmaker" figures began to move toward Ratzinger. By Tuesday afternoon Martini had decided to throw his support behind the German.
The election was also seen to indicate that the cardinals were more immediately worried about declining faith in Europe -- a particular concern of Ratzinger -- than the problems of the developing world, where two thirds of Catholics now live.
As a respected administrator and Vatican veteran, Ratzinger is also seen as well-placed to reform the Curia or Church bureaucracy, which his predecessor neglected.