While Pope Benedict XVI, previously the Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, formally begins his pontificate on Sunday, some Malaysian Catholic activists and clergy are worried that the church under the new pope would become more insular and clamp down on movements working with the poor.

''My initial reaction was one of shock, rather than exclaiming 'Thanks be to God','' said Catherine, a church worker involved in poverty issues who only wanted to be identified by her first name.

''I fear the church has become polarised. On the one hand, you have all these Christians working among the poor and who need the support of the church. And on the other, you are trying to return to orthodoxy,'' she told IPS , referring to Ratzinger's formal inauguration three weeks after the death of his predecessor, John Paul II.