A Roman Catholic nun in Maryland who was ordered by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to stop ministering to gays and lesbians tells the Associated Press that his election as pope is "devastating" for those who believe the Catholic Church needs to be more tolerant on social issues such as homosexuality.

Sister Jeannine Gramick says the choice of Ratzinger, who as the Vatican's guardian of doctrine silenced her and Father Robert Nugent in a 1999 order, will likely prevent the church from "moving into the 21st century and out of the Middle Ages."

"It does not bode well for people who are concerned for lesbian and gay people in the church," she said.

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But opinion about him remains deeply divided in Germany, a sharp contrast to John Paul, who was revered in his native Poland. A recent poll for Der Spiegel news weekly said Germans opposed to Ratzinger becoming pope outnumbered supporters 36 percent to 29 percent, with 17 percent having no preference. The poll of 1,000 people, taken April 5-7, gave no margin of error.

Many blame Ratzinger for decrees from Rome barring Catholic priests from counseling pregnant teens on their options and blocking German Catholics from sharing communion with their Lutheran brethren at a joint gathering in 2003.

Ratzinger has clashed with prominent theologians at home, most notably the liberal Hans Kueng, who helped him get a teaching post at the University of Tuebingen in the 1960s. The cardinal later publicly criticized Kueng, whose license to teach theology was revoked by the Vatican in 1979.

'He has hurt many people'
He has also sparred openly in articles with fellow German Cardinal Walter Kasper, a moderate who has urged less centralized church governance and was considered a dark horse papal candidate.

“He has hurt many people and far overstepped his boundaries in Germany,” said Christian Wiesner, spokesman for the pro-reform Wir Sind Kirche, or We Are Church movement.

Trusting, hoping

FROM MSNBC
I am a gay Roman Catholic.  I attend mass regularly and have a deep belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  People often ask me why I stay with a church that is so clearly opposed to my lifestyle.  I made a decision long ago that I would not let the powers that be discourage or throw me out.  I opt to work for change within the church.  While John Paul the 2nd was very conservative I still felt cared for by him.  I do not get this same feeling from the newly elected Pope Benedict.  I can only trust in the new Popes words: "The fact that the lord can work and act even with insufficient means consoles me."  In the end, the Holy Spirit is continually at work in the world and makes all things work for the common good.
--Mark Niezgoda, Brooklyn, N.Y.