Election of Pope Benedict XVI; Welcomed with Delight by Pro-Lifers.

On April 19, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, taking the papal name Benedict XVI. The brilliant, but humble, German theologian is most known for his guardianship of orthodox Catholic belief, but he revealed himself also as a gentle and loving pastor when handed the enormous responsibility of leading the world's Catholics and interfacing with the world's religious and political leaders.

Pro-lifers were especially encouraged when they recalled the strong statements he has made in defense of the dignity of human life.

Pro-life Catholics in the U.S. were encouraged last fall when then-Cardinal Ratzinger sent a memo to the U.S. Catholic bishops stating that Catholics are obligated to oppose laws that permit abortion and euthanasia, and that a Catholic politician publicly and "consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws" is guilty of formal cooperation with these evils.

Furthermore, he wrote, if a Catholic "were to deliberately vote for a candidate precisely because of a candidate's permissive stand on abortion and/or euthanasia" he would as well be "guilty of formal cooperation in evil."

The then-cardinal also clarified the priority that opposing abortion and euthanasia have over other issues: "Not all moral issues have the same weight as abortion and euthanasia. There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion, even among Catholics, about waging war or applying the death penalty, but not, however, with regard to abortion and euthanasia."

He emphasized the Church's opposition to euthanasia in the following words: "Scripture, in fact, clearly excludes every form of the kind of self-determination of human ...