Bermuda's Roman Catholic Bishop has come out in support of conservative new Pope - His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.

Bishop Robert J. Kurtz said he met the new Pope - German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope yesterday afternoon - at a meeting of Bishops at the Episcopal Conference in Rome in 2002.

“I met him on one occasion,” he said. “He is a man of few words but they were always well chosen.”

As far as the German nationality of the new Pope, Bishop Kurtz said the monopoly Italy once had on Popes seems to have been broken.

But he said he was a bit surprised that a Cardinal from Africa or Latin America was not chosen.

“I did think they would choose a Latin American or African Cardinal,” he said.

Cardinal Ratzinger was a leading figure in the funeral of Pope John Paul II and the opening mass of the conclave, he said.

It was during these holy ceremonies that Cardinal Ratzinger called attention to what the leaders of the Roman Catholic church call “the concerns of the church in the modern world”, Bishop Kurtz said.

The new Pope criticised “moral relativism” - when people make up their own rules to live by, rather than living by the principles of a church.

The new Pope had been a believer in the more orthodox, traditional stances on Church doctrine, the Bishop said, as for more than 20 years he was head of the congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican - the Vatican's guardian of orthodoxy.

Pope Benedict XVI supports the Catholic churche's most controversial stances on birth-control, abortion, homosexuality, priestly marriage and women priests.

He is the oldest Pope for more than a century and was born in 1927.

At the age of 14, Cardinal Ratzinger joined the Hitler Youth, as was required of young Germans at the time.

But Bishop Kurtz said the new Pope was humble and gentle.

He conceded some members of his congregation would be disappointed by the appointment, but there would still be a special mass for Pope Benedict XVI in the Diocese shortly.

When Bishop Kurtz lived in Rome he heard several presentations by the then-Cardinal Ratzinger.

“In his presentations, he was always well prepared, very clear and very direct,” he said. “He is a philosopher and a theologian. His presentations were masterful and wide-ranging and his doctrines profound.”

Bishop Kurtz said the new Pope, who is a Professor of Theology, is a shy and different kind of man to the often flamboyant Polish Holiness, John Paul II.

“He will be his own man,” the Bishop said.

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI was a member of the Vatican Council from 1962 to 1965. Bishop Kurtz explained this was a very important meeting of the church which revived its life and teachings.

“I am pleased with the choice,” Bishop Kurtz said. “I was surprised how quickly the Cardinals came to the decision.”

However, on the other hand he was not surprised Cardinal Ratzinger was chosen so quickly as he was an extremely well-respected figure in Rome, he said.

“He was the chief adviser to the Pope for 20 years,” he said. “He is a very learned man. He is a man who challenges conventional wisdom. I think he is a man who seeks the truth and defends the truth.”

The new Pope was the leading force behind the design of the Catholic Catechism, or church doctrine.

Cardinal Ratzinger was chosen after only the second day of the conclave in the Vatican.

And Bermuda's Catholic Bishop said Cardinal Ratzinger was the odds-on favourite to win.

“Even the bookmakers in Ireland had him as a prime candidate,” he said.

“They chose the man they feel is best for the position,” he said.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder told the world's media yesterday: “This is a great honour for Germany. I think he will be a worthy successor to Pope John Paul II. I congratulate him on behalf of the government and all Germans.”

Bermuda's German Consul Peter Bubenzer was in the US on business yesterday and did not respond by presstime last night.