2 things
I Hate The FCC said:
He was a bad choice because he was in the Hitler youth program. He was drafted in WW2 as an anti-aircraft gunner. He deserted the Germans and was in an American POW camp for several months. We have no need for someone that was in the Hitler youth program running anything as big as the Catholic church. He is 78 anyway. He won't last long. I wonder how long until another crusade is started (besides the war in Iraq).
just to set an example of how the past never seems to matter, Ulysses S. Grant was a raging alcoholic. After a short tenure with the US army during the Mexican war, he left and didn't serve again until he was asked to fight for the Union during the Civil War. He was still an alcoholic and was often a brutal general during the Civil War, but no one could argue his ability as a military leader. Though his problems with alcohol continued after the Civil War was over, what did our forefathers do not long after? They elected him as the 18th president of the U.S.A.

I could list a lot of other examples, but here's the point: We all hear the saying about "the past is the past, ppl can change" and its usually bs... but considering that the new Pope, who is 78, would've been in his early teens and 20's during WWII, and grew up in Nazi Germany, I'm sure that he's changed a lot over the past 50 years. So i dont see how that can be held against him.
Now, will he be the right man for the job? I'm not sure... but gay marriage, euthanasia, and abortion are things the religion of Christianity (not jus catholicism) have beliefs and morals against. If he's going to be the leader of one of the largest bodies of Christians in the world, should he be expected to question Christian standards and beliefs that are clearly outlined and stated? His job, granted, is to write the church doctrine... but it is NOT his job to change the teachings of the Word.