With the Pope’s retirement comes a chance for the Church to turn a new corner.  I respect Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to step down due to failing health, and wish him a comfortable and prayerful retirement.  This change in leadership could also mean changes for the Church.

A new Pope will give the Church a chance to update their policies to the 21st century.  Our generation has different needs and concerns than the generations before us, and the Church needs to adapt.

In the midst of the vocational crisis, perhaps this new Pope will try and make a real change: allowing priests to get married.  There are people our age who could be excellent priests, but couldn’t give up the chance for a family.  When our generation is older, there may not be enough priests to fill current parishes.

I don’t expect the Church to turn liberal, but the strong possibility of a Pope from Africa could also change the conversation on contraception.  An African Pope could look at the rampant spread of HIV/AIDS and the ever-increasing population and decide that contraception could do more good than harm.

Worldwide, there are ever-increasing numbers of those affected by this awful disease.  People our age are being infected, particularly in poorer areas.  A new understanding from the Church could help teens and young adults prevent this terminal illness.

This Pope will have the chance to do something about the priests who molested young boys.  This scandal was at its height during Pope Benedict XVI’s term, but other than apologizing and meeting with victims, the Vatican took very little action.  Apologies are all well and good, but we can only hope that the future Pope will take steps to protect children in Catholic churches.

Although it’s a long shot, this Pope could even practice tolerance towards LGBT couples.  I’m not expecting the Church to change its teachings on homosexuality, but now that gay marriage is being legalized in more and more places, the Church has to catch up.

At the very least, the Church should not oppose rights for LGBT couples like visitation rights in hospitals.  As more and more young people come out, they won’t want to join a religion that has a division with the gay community.

A new Pope could mean a new Church.  I hope that our generation can look forward to an updated Church for a changing world.

Martha Schick is the Multimedia Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.