Biography of the newly elected Pope Benedict XVI. The election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to the papacy shocked some and delighted others. He is both an ardent intellectual and a driven traditionalist charged with leading a divided Church into a new era. In Pope Benedict XVI, bestselling author Stephen Mansfield tells the story of a youth who grew up in Nazi Germany and went from being a liberal theologian associated with Vatican II to a theological conservative who became Pope John Paul's closest ally. Mansfield's portrait suggests the very theme of the new papacy: Benedict XVI will be the Great Custodian. He will sustain the return to tradition marked by John Paul, and he will - so early signs suggest - seek to reevangelize Europe. Because of Ratzinger's wealth of public statements, his positions on most pressing social issues are clear. What is less obvious is how or whether he will reach out to Islam. Given that as a cardinal, Ratzinger publicly opposed the inclusion of Turkey into the European Union, early indications are that this is not a man who is going to meet the world on terms shaped by so-called multiculturalism. Whatever olive branches he extends, Mansfield contends, are going to have conditions attached.