The New York Times > International > International Special > For America's Divided Roman Catholics, a New Disagreement:

"Clem Boleche, 29, an Augustinian brother from the Philippines who is studying to be a priest in the Archdiocese of Boston, said his classmates at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology rushed into a room with a television to await the announcement of the new pope. When Cardinal Ratzinger appeared on the balcony, he said, the room grew silent.

"Brother Boleche said he and many others were hoping for someone less conservative and more open to debating church doctrine.

"'I'm honestly not surprised, but I think it would have been more exciting, more of a challenge, if he came from a different area,' Brother Boleche said. 'Latin America is alive. It is open, and is not stifling the spirit like many European churches.'"

With all due respect to Brother Boleche, how much experience does a 29 year old seminarian from the Phillipines who studies in America have with the "stifiling of the spirit" of the European Church, or for that matter with the "alive"ness of Latin America.