How much do you know about Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, nicknamed "The Enforcer" or the "Panzerkardinal"? He's been head of Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (formerly the Inquisition) for more than 20 years and he has been described as being even more zealous in the defense of orthodoxy than the pope himself.
The Australian has a profile of his life and beliefs:

He shares the view of the Polish Pope ... that only a united Catholic Church with absolute values can stand against totalitarianism and the temptations of Western materialism. The cardinal was shocked by the reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, when the old certainties gave way to intellectual and theological debate. ... The cardinal has also condemned Buddhism, Hinduism and other Eastern religions as offering false hope through "auto-erotic spirituality", accused the media of exaggerating the extent of the pedophilia scandals in the North American Church and encouraged a return to the Latin Mass.

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Justin Sparks, Munich, John Follain and Christopher Morgan, Rome 
 
THE wartime past of a leading German contender to succeed John Paul II may return to haunt him as cardinals begin voting in the Sistine Chapel tomorrow to choose a new leader for 1 billion Catholics.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, whose strong defence of Catholic orthodoxy has earned him a variety of sobriquets — including “the enforcer”, “the panzer cardinal” and “God’s rottweiler” — is expected to poll around 40 votes in the first ballot as conservatives rally behind him.

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April 18, 2005

According to a prophecy made in the 12th century, there would be only 112 popes left. Whoever is elected Pope in the next few days will be the 111th.
After that, according to the prophecy, there will be just one more pope. And then Rome -- and the Catholic church -- will be wiped out. In the words of the prediction, 'the city of seven hills shall be destroyed, and the dreadful Judge shall judge the people.'

The man who made this prediction was St Malachy, an Irish bishop and clairvoyant. While on a visit to Rome, St Malachy is said to have fallen into a trance and seen a vision of all the popes to come. Writing in the year 1139, he described each of them in a single, sometimes cryptic, but ultimately apt, Latin phrase. And so far he has been remarkably -- even eerily – accurate.

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