"Habemus papam", the Latin phrase that means, "we have a new Pope", was heard in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City today. Former Cardinal Ratzinger of Germany was introduced to the crowd as Pope Benedict XVI.

But what do we know about this new Pope? Well, leave it to The Ominous Harbinger to compile and present the ominous side of this momentous occurrence.

Firstly, the Cardinal's nickname as Dean of the College of Cardinals was Der Panzercardinal, named for the German Panzerkampfwagen tanks that gained infamy in World War II. He was also called "God's Rottweiler" for his extremely conservative viewpoints and strong stances on dogmatic issues.

Secondly, Pope John Paul II named Cardinal Ratzinger prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, formerly known as the Holy Office of the Inquisition. Spooky huh? This position is the doctrinal enforcer and disciplinarian for priests and theologians who strayed from the accepted teachings of Catholicism, in other words, he was vice-Principle of the Catholic world

Now we are not going to go into the fact that he was in the Hitler Youth and the German Army (but deserted) because it was German law at the time. Anyone who throws those facts around as arguments are simply ridiculous. However, there is the Jedi-like mind-trick that Cardinal Ratzinger pulled in his homily during a public Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on the day before he was elected. In his homily he called for his fellow clergy to hold fast to church doctrine in this "great hour of responsibility." This seems to have been a not-so-subtle suggestion to elect him to the papacy. And so they did on the fourth or fifth ballot. What is noteworthy about the balloting process, is that the first ballot is largely ceremonial giving the cardinals the opportunity to pay respect to elders and teachers among them.

This clear victory rules out the possibility of an antipope, usually a result of closely contested races. Scientists at Fermilab in Chicago stated that "it would have been nice to get an antipope to test theories of Pope-antipope reactions" but continued "we are happy for the new Pope and wish him the best of luck".