papal wanderings

I am not Catholic, and my opinion on the pontification of the next supreme leader of the catholic church shall not be construed as an endorsement of any condidate. Having said that...does it seem like the calls for a more "liberal" pope from some of the talking heads come across as self-serving? I mean, the pope, as far as I understand, is going to be a "strict constructionist" when it comes to social issues. I doubt that we will have a pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, pro-contraception pope. Perhaps all three of those positions are valuable and "good" (that's an argument for another afternoon) but they are pretty specifically the oposite of what is written in the text (of the bible).
Honestly I have a kneejerk channel changing reflex everytime I turn on the TV and there is more wall to wall pope funeral coverage.