I'm not Catholic, so hopefully I won't feel guilty writing about their affairs. But the last pope had a term that lasted nearly 27 years, so I don't know how long it'll be until I can nag about a new one. Plus, Pope Benedict XVI, born Joseph Ratzinger in 1927, looks too much like the emperor from "Star Wars" to resist.

Writing about papal and other Catholic issues as a Protestant is a precarious job. I don't wish to pass any judgment on the Catholic Church -- I only wish to pass judgment on the selection of its disturbingly conservative new head of state. In all fairness, however, I'm not going to dwell on his involvement in the Hitler Youth in 1941 or his service in the German army during the last few years of World War Two.

As far as I understand, he was opposed to Nazi principles, left the Hitler Youth for religious reasons and deserted the army shortly before the German surrender in 1945. And last I checked, we are 60 years removed from all that. I'm a firm believer in judging a man by who he is today, not by who he may or may not have been decades ago. Unfortunately, though, the sight isn't much prettier -- at least not to this progressive Christian.

The pope is, in a sense, the figurehead for a group of a people who permeate class and racial lines and national borders globally. The key word in the preceding sentence is, without a doubt, "globally." While Catholicism, and Christianity in general, has followed a downward trend in Europe for decades, the opposite has held true in the developing nations of Latin America and Africa. Today, more than 275 million Catholics live in Brazil and Mexico, comprising well over a quarter of the world's Catholics<\p>--<\p>and that's just two countries in Latin America.

The Philippines is the third most Catholic-heavy nation with close to 70 million, and Nigeria, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo together make up another 60 million. What I'm trying to demonstrate here (albeit longwindedly), is that Catholicism is no longer a European phenomenon, but increasingly a truly international faith. Isn't it time that a man -- or woman, but I won't even think of going there -- who represents the ever-more dominant non-European Catholics occupy the papacy?

And if such a selection is too progressive, as it apparently is, couldn't the cardinals at least have chosen a pontiff with these people's basic human interests at heart? The recently selected German is strictly pro-life and stringently anti-birth control, including condom use to prevent the proliferation of sexually transmitted diseases. Both these convictions, while traditionally religious, are immensely counterproductive in the regions of the world where population is ballooning and the spread of HIV / AIDS is rampant. I would not ask that a pope support such practices, but at least he should not be as diametrically opposed to them. Considering the growing number of faithful in Latin America and especially in Africa, issues of overpopulation and AIDS affect the Catholic Church as much or more than anybody else. A blind condemnation of tried-and-true methods of decelerating population growth and slowing the epidemic is just that: blind.

And then there is the ever-present issue of homosexuality -- or, as Ratzinger described it in the late '80s, an "intrinsic moral evil" and a "disorder." In this day and age, when many modernized countries are on the verge of granting same-sex marriage (knock on wood), to have the spiritual leader of a billion people -- many of whom are certainly gay -- label homosexuality as "evil" is, well, intrinsically absurd. I was hoping -- and even praying -- that the conclave could sack up and for once give Christianity an air of tolerance. Excuse the brief theological tangent, but at what point will the church actually accept and live up to one of its central tenets: "we are all God's children"?

Ultimately, though, the most glaring qualm I have about this new pope is not his advanced age, not his being European rather than Latino or African, not his conservative convictions regarding birth-control, not his stance on homosexuality and certainly not his resemblance to Darth Vader's dark lord. It is rather his steadfast belief, in his own words, that "only in the Catholic Church is there eternal salvation." Such a statement should, I guess, be expected from the leader of a religious faith -- a leader who is wholeheartedly devoted to his faith (hopefully). However, the pope has become more than just a symbol of a unitary religion, but has, whether we like it or not, become a moral role model for all people. And such a man should not make such exclusionary statements, but should do everything he can to unite. After all, there are plenty of divisive issues in today's world -- we don't need another.

Kalani hopes that in coming years, Pope Benedict XVI will make him eat his words. E-mail him at kalani08@stanford.edu.