PORTLAND – The leader of Maine’s 234,000 Roman Catholics welcomed the election of a new pope on Tuesday, pledging the support and prayers of the state’s faithful as the church faces challenges here and abroad.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany will follow the path of renewal established by Pope John Paul II, said Maine Bishop Richard Malone.

“The new pope faces many challenges, some of them urgent, but the direction has been set. We believe that he is the choice of the Holy Spirit, who will guide and protect him,” Malone said in a statement after Ratzinger’s selection.

Across Maine, many turned to their televisions or listened to radios as Ratzinger was selected during the first conclave of the millennium.

In Gorham, Margarita Heward celebrated the selection of a Bavarian pope. She recalled listening to Ratzinger’s homilies when he served as leader of the archdiocese of Munich and Freising in southern Germany.

“I’m absolutely thrilled because I have heard his homilies. In my experience, he has been a wonderful thinker. He has a great intellect. He’s a great, caring person. And he’s a great pastor,” said Heward, who moved to Maine in 1969.

Ratzinger, who chose the name Benedict XVI, was greeted by cheers from a crowd of tens of thousands as he emerged onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to give his first blessing. The crowd responded by chanting “Benedict! Benedict!”

In the United States, the selection of the church’s leading hard-liner may be met with less enthusiastic cheers, said Daniel Sheridan, professor of theology and vice president of academic affairs at St. Joseph’s College in Standish.

U.S. Catholics are split between those who supported John Paul II and liberals who want changes like married priests, said Sheridan, who welcomed Ratzinger’s selection but noted that others took a different view.

“Even at the lunch table around here, people were groaning,” Sheridan said. “Some people will be deeply pleased. Some will be dismayed.”

Those who criticize Ratzinger don’t know him, Heward said. “He’s the nicest, kindest man you’ll ever meet,” she said.

She said she has defended him for upholding the faith and not allowing the teachings to become “smorgasbord for you to pick and choose.”

In New England, the church has been rocked by the priest sexual abuse scandal. And the regional director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said he hopes the pope will be more forthcoming on the issue.

“There is no room in the church for priests that have abused children,” SNAP’s Bill Gately said from the Vatican. “And I would put it this way: We’re hopeful but we don’t have many expectations for change.”

The church abuse scandal and the payout of millions of dollars in settlements are among the problems facing the new pope. Other problems include a chronic shortage of priests and nuns in Maine and the rest of the United States.

Sheridan said the College of Cardinals knew that the selection of Ratzinger might not be well received in the United States.

“His selection … is emphatic about the affirmation of the Catholic Creed and views with suspicion some of the more liberal philosophy that some U.S. and European theologians have followed,” Sheridan said.

Sheridan said it’s possible that there could one day be a return to married priests. But the church’s views on sanctity of marriage, abortion and euthanasia are not likely to change under Pope Benedict’s leadership.