I refer to the letter New pope has an open mind and would beg to differ with its contents.

The writer talks about our Holy Father 'as a man of open mind' but everything I've read about Pope Benedict XVI's background seems to show that he would like to take the Church back to as it was in the old days, back to the basics of beliefs.

To name a few areas, he is said to be strongly against homosexuality, hugely chauvinistic to the Catholic faith (believing that it is the only true religion) and will never give in to the ordination of women to name a few.

I've also read that he believes that Holy Communion should be denied to those who support abortion and mercy killings. How can any of these stances be considered 'progressive' or 'open minded' in anyway?

How can any of this help a shepherd-less flock that desperately needs changes to help those that the Roman Catholic Church has unfairly marginalised for so long?