We have a Pope

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From the former Cardinal Ratzinger:

"How many winds of doctrine we have known in recent decades, how many ideological currents, how many ways of thinking… The small boat of thought of many Christians has often been tossed about by these waves – thrown from one extreme to the other: from Marxism to liberalism, even to libertinism; from collectivism to radical individualism; from atheism to a vague religious mysticism; from agnosticism to syncretism, and so forth. Every day new sects are created and what Saint Paul says about human trickery comes true, with cunning which tries to draw those into error (cf Eph 4, 14). Having a clear faith, based on the Creed of the Church, is often labeled today as a fundamentalism. Whereas, relativism, which is letting oneself be tossed and 'swept along by every wind of teaching', looks like the only attitude (acceptable) to today's standards. We are moving towards a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one's own ego and one's own desires."

I believe Pope Benedict 16th will start a "Vatican III". No priest who's belief is this strong will simply let his church wander as it has been these past few years

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I wonder if the American catholic church will whither away in the manner of the European catholic churches of the late 1800s?

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I wonder if the American catholic church will whither away in the manner of the European catholic churches of the late 1800s?

Many say that the reason that they picked him was to try to revive the Church in Western Europe.

To an extent, I belive that. A Latin American or an African pope would have caused the end of the church even in Eastern Europe.

But the major spiritual crisis of western Europe is moral indifference.  I can't see how Benedict, or any other person, can fight that.  

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Prediction:  Benedict XVI will take up the pacifist agenda of Benedict XV and will make Vatican opposition to the War on Terror a central element of his Papacy.  This will create a significan rift between the Church and many of its American adherents.  Most actual church going Catholics support the war, its the non-practicing ones who are mostly against it.  This, combined with continued indifference to the child sex scandal will leave the American church weaker than ever before.

You've just found the way Benedict plans to revive the European church (but I still hope you're wrong...)

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I suspect that his choice of name was more influenced by St. Benedict of Nursia and Pope Saint Benedict II (patron saint of Europe) than Benedict XV.  Given the ill-fortune and infamy that has accompanied the name since Benedict II, one has to wonder why so many popes have chosen it.

You would think they just asked to be beaten senseless by French mercenaries at age 80...