WHOEVER succeeded John Paul II would have faced an enormously difficult task.

The challenge of following one of history's best-loved Popes has fallen to Joseph Ratzinger - Pope Benedict XVI - and he has our best wishes.

His election will delight the traditionalists who want to see the strength of Pope John Paul II maintained on controversial and complex issues such as contraception, abortion, women priests and homosexuality.

But it will disappoint those who had hoped for a more liberal pontiff, capable of recognising changing attitudes in modern society.

The Church has its problems. Many see the decline in the number of people attending Mass in the West as evidence that it is increasingly out of touch. The fall in the number of young men entering the priesthood is another cause for concern which cannot simply be ignored.

The debate about the Vatican's stance on contraception as a public health measure becomes more urgent every day because of the tragic spread of AIDS in many African countries, where Catholicism is in robust health.

Despite the worldwide affection and respect felt for John Paul II, there is a danger that a successor chosen to maintain his conservative principles may end up being divisive at a time when the world needs greater inclusion.

From what we know of Pope Benedict XVI, we are unlikely to see the winds of change sweeping through the Vatican. But finding a path between tradition and the need for some sense of flexibility is the challenge that lies ahead.