BOB ABERNETHY, anchor: Quickly and, for some, controversially, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was this week elected to succeed John Paul II as the 265th pope of the Roman Catholic Church. He chose the name Benedict XVI.

Kim Lawton is just back from Rome.

KIM LAWTON: The election greatly pleased U.S. Catholic conservatives who expect Pope Benedict XVI will continue upholding the Church's traditional teachings. Catholic liberals, who were hoping for more openness in the papacy, were disappointed.

The shortest conclave in a century began on Monday, when the 115 cardinal-electors entered the Sistine Chapel and pledged an oath of absolute secrecy and obedience to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Four ballots later, they selected one of John Paul II's closest advisors, the powerful and conservative Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

Dr. CHESTER GILLIS (Theology Professor and Chair, Georgetown University): No one knows exactly what he'll do. But they anticipate he will carry on the policies of John Paul II. So if you're looking for change, this is probably not the papacy for it. If you're looking for continuity, this is the papacy, and in some ways it extends the legacy of the papacy of John Paul II for another perhaps 10 or 15 years, however long God allows this pope to live.

LAWTON: Among many of the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics, there was great joy. Father Joseph Fessio, provost of Ave Maria University in Florida, was a student of Ratzinger's and published the cardinal's writings at Ignatius Press. He says he can scarcely believe his good friend was chosen.

Reverend JOSEPH FESSIO, S.J. (Provost, Ave Maria University): But I was waiting, saying, "I wonder, I wonder. Could it be, could it be?" And I saw the curtains open. Once I heard "Ratzinger" I just burst into tears. It was so amazing to see someone that I've known, someone that I've talked to, someone that I've been with there, dressed up like the pope -- because he was the pope. And the joy for me is knowing what a gift this is for the Church.

LAWTON: But within the Church's more liberal wing, including in America, Cardinal Ratzinger's election has provoked great concern about what the future may hold.

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Dr. GILLIS: Groups such as women who have been interested perhaps in higher office in the Church clearly are going to be disappointed in this decision and be disenfranchised in that way. The gay community, the Catholic gay community, will not find a friend in Cardinal Ratzinger. Those who want greater collegiality or participation by the laity in the decision-making process -- that remains to be seen, but it's unlikely that he'll go in that direction.

LAWTON: As head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Ratzinger was the guardian of church orthodoxy. Part of his job was to clamp down on dissident activists and theologians.

Dr. GILLIS: Some in the theological community -- a shudder went down their spine when this pope was elected because he's been a very vigilant watchdog about orthodoxy, and he's been fairly proactive and aggressive about theologians who might deviate from certain Church doctrines or who might have experimental notions or push the edges of theology, which the academy is always invited to do.