Rome, Italy, Apr 20, 2005 / 22:00 pm
Future American priests studying in Rome are cheering the choice of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope, reported Knight Ridder.
Edward Cardinal Egan, archbishop of New York, said he spoke with some future priests after the conclusion of the papal conclave Tuesday night.
"They were exultant. They were shouting, `Thank you,'" Cardinal Egan said.
"We've just grown up with John Paul II, taken on his views and his approach to things," said Jason Parzynski, 24, who is studying in Rome for the Diocese of Lansing. "Ratzinger was the personal theologian to John Paul II, and he'll carry on."
American priests in Rome said Pope John Paul II nurtured their call to the priesthood at World Youth Day in Denver in 1993 and in Toronto in 2002. Fr. Steve Lopes, 30, said most of those ordained with him in 2001 had attended World Youth Day in Denver.
Theodore Cardinal McCarrick of Washington said he believes Pope Benedict XVI will continue John Paul II's legacy of reaching out to young people, and vocations will come of it.
Pope Benedict XVI is expected to be at the next World Youth Day in August in Cologne, Germany.