Students and scholars offer their views

When he thinks of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger -- the man who yesterday became Pope Benedict XVI -- James E. Post thinks back to the worst days of the clergy sex abuse crisis, and has reason for hope.

Yes, this is a man who early on dismissed the scandal as ''a planned campaign" by the news media. But in January 2004, Ratzinger met with the US bishops' National Review Board and expressed knowledge and concern about the abuse, said Post, president of Voice of the Faithful, a Newton-based lay Catholic group formed in the wake of the crisis.

''He was clearly both deeply troubled and gave [the members] the impression that he believed that it was important to take strong action," Post said.

As they look to the next pope, many Boston-area Catholics and non-Catholics have been evaluating Ratzinger's past statements, poring over his background, and wondering what his election means. And many seemed deeply divided yesterday over where Ratzinger stands and what his papacy holds for the church's future.

Some are convinced he will follow in the path of Pope John Paul II, reaching out to young people and to other faiths.

Some are dismayed that he might continue John Paul II's traditional views on birth control, abortion, and women in the clergy.

And some say they believe Ratzinger has changed in recent years, taking the sex abuse scandal more seriously.

Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of the website bishop-accountability.org, noted that Ratzinger recently reopened an investigation into Marcial Maciel, a powerful Catholic fund-raiser and longtime ally of John Paul II, who was accused of molesting boys decades ago at the group's seminary near the Vatican.

Of all the candidates for pope, Doyle said, Ratzinger probably knows the most about the clergy sex abuse crisis. As head of the church's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the group that hears cases of clergy sexual abuse, Ratzinger heard many of the allegations.

''We think that Ratzinger may have more anger and more motivation to weed out molesters from the hierarchy and the priesthood," Doyle said.

But Ann Hagan Webb, spokeswoman for the New England chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said she had been hoping for a strikingly different voice.

''This new pope has been in line with the previous pope's ideas all along," she said. ''Neither one has been particularly amenable to hearing the voices of survivors or to putting the sex abuse crisis on the front burner for the Vatican and the church."

Ratzinger's role within the church also made him key enforcer of conservative doctrine -- something that left some Catholics yesterday disappointed, and even angry. At Boston College, several students said they strongly disagreed with the new pope's views on homosexually, women's rights, and sex abuse.

''I think people are disappointed that the new pope doesn't reflect their desire for change," said Joanna Sweeney, 22.

''If he remains pope for a number of years, I feel we will be taking steps back." agreed Tiana Estrada, 20.

And Bernadette Brooten, a Christian studies professor at Brandeis University in Waltham who encountered Ratzinger in 1972, when he was a professor arguing for papal infallibility, called his election ''very problematic."

''I'm concerned about the separation of church and state, how best to address the AIDS crisis, the leadership of women in the Catholic Church, teachings on sexuality," she said. ''There are other voices in the church and I'm very distressed that this is the person."

But others said Ratzinger's background gives him a helpful perspective on history.

Richard Glovsky, former board chairman of the New England region of the Anti-Defamation League, said Ratzinger's personal history -- he grew up during World War II, and said at one point he served against his will in Hitler's Nazi youth program -- actually increases his appeal.

''You might think, on its surface, 'Oh my God,"' Glovsky said. ''But he has demonstrated over many years not only his regret for his own participation at a very young age, but also . . . an affinity for others and for understanding oppression in all its various forms."

Ratzinger's election, Glovsky said, will ''continue the legacy of Pope John Paul II, but also enhance it."

Some Catholics said they hope Ratzinger emulates Pope John Paul II's consistency and faith. The Rev. John R. McLaughlin, who runs the Life Teen youth program at St. Mary's Church in Foxborough, said many of the teenagers in his program accepted the late pope's views.

''They saw him as a guy who lived that life, as what he preached," McLaughlin said. ''I think that they appreciated and really felt his holiness."

''I don't think we should try and change the church," said Jen Duffey, 17, a high school junior from Foxborough who belongs to Life Teen.

McLaughlin, Duffey, and about 35 other teens and young adults from St. Mary's plan to travel to Cologne, Germany this August for World Youth Day, an international Catholic event begun by Pope John Paul II. The idea of a German pope at a German event is exciting, Duffey said.

Some Catholics from Africa and Latin America, however, expressed disappointment that the cardinals chose another European pontiff.

Bishop Filipe Teixeira, a member of the Catholic Church of the Americas -- a liberal Catholic group independent of Roman Catholicism -- had hoped a pope would be chosen from one of the regions of the world where Catholicism is growing most quickly.

''Our people need to feel part of this world Catholicism," said Teixeira, who is from Angola and leads congregations in Dorchester and Brockton.

In other corners, Ratzinger's nationality is cause for particular hope. At Holy Trinity Church in the South End -- slated to close on June 30 -- parishioners wonder if a German pope could lead to a reprieve, said George Krim, the associate music director and director of the German choir.

Members have been heartbroken over the impending loss of the church, believed to be the last German parish in New England, which still features regular Masses in German, Krim said. Appeals to Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley have so far been fruitless.

''Maybe this will be providential," Krim said. ''Maybe the archbishop will change his mind."

Megan Tench of the Globe staff contributed to this report.