Only the name will change

The only difference the resignation of Benedict XVI as head of the Catholic Church will be the name change. The new Pope will never do anything to displease his predecessor according to Carlos Alberto Libânio Christo, better known as Frei Betto, author of “Fidel and Religion”and  former special adviser  in the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for programmes like Zero Hunger.Therefore he will maintain the Church’s ban on debating issues like abortion, ending priestly celibacy, the ordination of women to the priesthood, condom use, stem cell research, gay unions, etc

Priests and bishops who embraced liberation theology, a "progressive" form of Catholicism originated in Latin America in the 1960s, were censured by the outgoing Pope  and now has lost the support of bishops and cardinals. Ratzinger was a hardline opponent of this movement, which emphasises the need to confront social injustice based on the Christian commitment to the “preferential option for the poor”, and used his previous post as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith – the successor to the Inquisition – to ban people like Hans Küng, of Switzerland, and Leonardo Boff, of Brazil, from teaching theology. It was Ratzinger who inspired and provided the theoretical background to the conservative measures taken by Karol Wojtyla, the Polish Pope. They both refused to implement the decisions of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) – a conference held 50 years ago. They both ruled out progressive bishops and appointed conservatives; they gave more importance to movements like the (ultra-conservative) Opus Dei than to pastoral ministry to the poor or basic Christian communities. The Catholic Church is still loaded down with mediaeval baggage. Benedict XVI was never sensitive to social issues.