Pope Benedict XVI Blog

Archbishop Levada named as new Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith

Peter DaSilva for The New York Times

Pope Benedict named the Archbishop of
San Francisco, William Joseph Levada,
above, as the new prefect for the
Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.

Pope Names American to Be Guardian of Church Doctrine

NYTimes.com

By IAN FISHER
and LAURIE GOODSTEIN

Published: May 13, 2005

ROME, May 13 - Acting both symbolically and consolidating his young rule, Benedict XVI announced today his first major public acts as pope: He named an American archbishop to be the guardian of church doctrine and he said he would speed up the process to make his popular predecessor, John Paul II, a saint.

Until he was elected pope last month, Benedict XVI, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, held for 24 years the doctrinal job, one of the most powerful and contentious posts in the Roman Catholic church. Today, he named William J. Levada, 68, archbishop of San Francisco, to be his successor.

As such, Archbishop Levada, a friend of Pope Benedict's who worked with him over many years, is the first American to be named to lead the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and is now the highest-ranking American at the Vatican.

Colleagues describe him as fair and broad-minded, a man who brings to the job a combination of scholarship, experience in the Vatican and years of pastoral work. He is also known as a theologian who has staunchly defended church teaching on many of the social issues now confronting the church, including abortion, women's role in the church, homosexuality and euthanasia.

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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 7:15 AM