I like this man. A LOT. I think he will be a great pope.
So don't get me wrong. I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade here, but I think we should prepare ourselves for a possible bit of disappointment with the new pope's views regarding the church and socialism.
Now I believe that as Cardinal Ratzinger, he clamped down on 'Liberation Theology' in Latin America (or was it only John Paul II who did that?).
But according to a couple of non-liberal panelists on Meet the Press yesterday, he holds fairly socialistic views.
The editor of First Things, Joseph Bottum, said the new pope favors the "third way" (hypothetical middle road between capitalism and Marxism) --which supposedly the Germans have tried to practice for the last half century. (Never mind that Germany has terrible unemployment and economic stagnation now!)
Bottum said that if John Paul II had said "Three cheers for democracy, and two cheers for capitalism," then Benedict XVI is now going to be saying only "one cheer for capitalism."
What evidence he gave that he supported "the third way?"