PICKING UP THE CROSS NEW HOLY FATHER WELCOMED BY MANY ACROSS SOUTHLAND.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

Southland residents welcomed Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday with a prayer that he construct bridges to join together people and faiths from around the globe.

Some praised the new pontif maximus - Latin for supreme bridge builder - for his staunch conservatism. Others expressed reservations about his orthodox stance against women clerics, birth control, homosexuality and divorce.

``In person, he is the kindest, gentlest, most open person you will ever want to meet. I hope he will build lots of bridges and keep them all open - no tolls,'' said Bishop Gerald Wilkerson of the San Fernando Pastoral Region, which oversees a million Catholics in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys.

``I surely hope that the vision of the new Holy Father Benedict XVI will unite the whole world, bring us all together, bring out the best in ourselves.''

News that German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had been chosen to fill the shoes of Pope John Paul II raced across Los Angeles - on morning TV, radio, the Internet and through word of mouth.

Bells peeled at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels downtown, where a noontime Mass was celebrated.

``We think he's a sign from God,'' said Glendale resident Patty Camacho, a 41-year-old rosary designer. ``He's the one person who is going to take care of the Catholic Church like God wants him to.

``The world is in a terrible situation. We need a conservative pope. The teenagers are lost. They really don't know what to do in their lives. The families are destroyed and the governments really don't know how to control their countries. So we really need a conservative pope in this world.''

At San Fernando Mission in Mission Hills, workers glued to the radio burst into tears of joy as Ratzinger took his new papal name, Benedict XVI.

``He needs the support of the world,'' said Juana Mejorado, a 52-year-old janitor. ``When I heard the name, I felt it in my heart.

``I hope to God that he can do what the other pope did for us, you know, because Latinos and blacks have always been at the bottom.''

At Santa Rosa Catholic Church in San Fernando, volunteers searched the Internet for the latest on the 78-year-old leader.

``We are all elated,'' said Teresa Vinson, a native of Mexico with the likeness of Pope John Paul II near her desk. ``I just want him to guide us the proper way.''

Many praised the pope as an enforcer of traditional church doctrine.

Others hoped that his adopted name, Benedict, would suggest a fight against evil.

Larry Flores, guardian of the Father Serra Catholic Church in Quartz Hill, noted that the Benedictine cross is noted for its use in exorcising demons.

``Just by the name he chose, Benedict, I get the feeling he's going to be an enforcer,'' said Flores, 48. ``Sometimes we need to stop in our tracks and be reminded of who we are.''

Even Protestants and Jews weighed in on the new leader of the world's Catholics.

Julie Sandeen, pastor of Children's Ministries at The Sanctuary Foursquare Church in Canyon Country, said she had to believe that the cardinals who chose Benedict XVI were godly men who listened to direction.

``Also, I need to believe that whether or not this cardinal grew up in Hitler's time, it must have had an effect on him,'' said Sandeen, 46. ``People can change and be transformed.''

Rabbi Harold Schulweiss of Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, a bridge builder among various faiths in Los Angeles, said he has hope for the new pope, despite the pontiff's link to the Hitler Youth as he grew up in Germany. ``I do believe that people repent in their ways,'' Schulweiss said. ``I think he'll likely be much more careful about his attitudes toward minorities.''

The Rev. Brian Doran, a pastor in gay and lesbian ministries at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in West Hollywood, said he understands that Benedict's job is to see that parishioners toe the line on the faith. But he asked that the pontiff recognize gays and lesbians not as faceless church members, but faithful Catholics in every level of the church.

``I would just like him to recognize that we are here, we are Catholics and we are good people,'' said Doran, a deaf priest who also ministers to the deaf.

The German community in Los Angeles hoped the first German pope in nearly 1,000 years would help erase a negative image of Germans following two world wars.

Hans Eberhard, a Lutheran married to a German Catholic, said the native of Bavaria could help elevate German culture across the world.

``I think it's about time we had a German pope - not since the 11th century,'' said Eberhard, 72, of North Hills, head of the Tricentennial Foundation in Granada Hills, which highlights German-American contributions to U.S. history.

``It's a day that (goes) down in history.''

Others who had hoped for more liberal reform were far more circumspect.

``I was hoping for a change. I was hoping the new pope would be a cardinal from one of the Third World countries and not from the inside,'' said Danny Recente, 35, a Catholic in Eagle Rock who had hoped a new pope would usher in policy changes on issues including female clerics, divorce and birth control.

``It's just going to be a continuation of what John Paul II has done. There are not going to be any changes at all, and that's not good.''

Sister Mary Amy Hauck, superior of the Sisters of Notre Dame in Thousand Oaks, held higher hopes for the man who for more than two decades has enforced church doctrine, which includes a ban on the ordination of women.

``People tend to think of him as the person who is making sure we adhere to the doctrine of the church,'' Hauck said. ``But it doesn't sum up who he is as a religious leader and thinker.

``Now is the time for us to let him be his own man. I have immense faith in the group of cardinals who elected him.''

This story was written by Dana Bartholomew and reported by Staff Writers Troy Anderson, Naush Boghossian, Greg Botonis, Alex Dobuzinskis, Eric Leach, Karen Maeshiro, Carol Rock and Rachel Uranga.

Dana Bartholomew, [phone]

dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Teresa Vinson, a church volunteer, looks at a magazine featuring the late Pope John Paul II as she ponders the future with Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday at Santa Rosa Catholic Church in San Fernando. ``I just want him to guide us the proper way,'' she said.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

(2) Mother Lillie from Baja California, Mexico, prays for Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - now Pope Benedict XVI - at a Tuesday Mass at Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer