I rejoice and hope Pope Francis rejoins and embraces the "people of God" who were altogether lost and condemned by our pope emeritus.
Despite Benedict's beautiful encyclicals on love and justice and his wonderful works on the life of Jesus, his insistence on a monarchically based religion failed miserably because he persisted in denying the "people of God."
Pope Francis must decidedly address the issue of clerical sex abuse, which has been criminally covered up by two popes and hundreds of bishops, yet continues to disable the church.
At the top of his agenda, our new pope must address the financial mismanagement in the Roman Curia and elsewhere.
He must fully join with "liberation theology" and embrace courageously the idea: "there is no salvation outside the poor."
He must return to the Second Vatican Council and continually welcome new thinkers.
Our new pope must condemn sexism and welcome women at all levels of liturgy and worship.
He needs to examine the nature of what constitutes priesthood and make changes.
Our priests are horribly driven by clericalism, histrionics and superstition and fully condemn any notion of the "people of God."
Tom Going
Ballston Lake