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St. Pius X Society superior general Bishop Bernard Fellay Rome, Italy, Nov 29, 2011 / 01:16 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X says he will inform the Vatican “in the next few days” that they cannot give the doctrinal reassurances required of them to advance reconciliation with the Catholic Church.“It is true that this Doctrinal Preamble cannot receive our endorsement,” said Bishop Bernard Fellay on the society’s website, Nov. 28. However, Bishop Fellay said his understanding is that the document is “not a definite text” and that it “can be clarified and...

Q. Why is the Doctrinal Preamble that Cardinal Levada delivered to you on September 14 still surrounded by so much secrecy, both on the part of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and by the Society of St. Pius X? What is this silence hiding from the priests and faithful of Tradition? A. This discretion is normal for any important proceeding; it ensures the seriousness of it. It so happens that the Doctrinal Preamble that was delivered to us is a document which can be clarified and modified, as the accompanying note points out. It is not a...

VATICAN CITY, 14 SEP 2011 (VIS) - At midday today the Holy See Press Office released the following communique concerning the postion of the Society of St. Pius X: "On 14 September at the offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the congregation and president of the Pontifical Commission 'Ecclesia Dei'; Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer S.J., secretary of the congregation, and Msgr. Guido Pozzo, secretary of the pontifical commission, met with Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior general of the Society of St. Pius X, who was accompanied by Fr. Niklaus Pfluger...

It's probably the second-most powerful Vatican office - prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the head of the Vatican department historically known as the Office of the Holy Inquisition, reports the Trumpet.It’s the job that Pope Benedict held as Cardinal Ratzinger directly answerable to John Paul II during the latter’s papacy. Under his rule, the prefect became known as “the pope’s enforcer.� Now the current holder of that office, Cardinal Levada (pictured), who was certainly not cast in the mold of a true “enforcer,� is set to retire.The question is: who will replace him?In all probability, Benedict...

Vatican City, May 1, 2010 / 08:47 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Fr. Maciel guilty, revision of Legion needed, report Apostolic VisitorsApostolic Visitors to the Legion of Christ condemned the "very serious and objectively immoral acts" of its founder, Fr. Marcial Maciel, in a statement on Saturday. The results of meetings from the last two days include the call for a "profound revision" of the life and structure of the congregation.The Holy See has released a statement from the meetings which took place between April 30 and May 1 at the Vatican. In addition to the five bishops involved in the...

The New York Times and Pope Benedict XVI: how it looks to an American in the VaticanIn our melting pot of peoples, languages and backgrounds, Americans are not noted as examples of “high” culture. But we can take pride as a rule in our passion for fairness. In the Vatican where I currently work, my colleagues – whether fellow cardinals at meetings or officials in my office – come from many different countries, continents and cultures. As I write this response today (March 26, 2010) I have had to admit to them that I am not proud of America’s newspaper...

The seminary chapel under constructionThe glorious rehabilitation of the traditional Latin Mass at the highest level of the Church will be illustrated on Wednesday when Cardinal William Levada, the Pope’s successor as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, will preach at the consecration of the first traditionalist seminary chapel built in America for 40 years – at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Nebraska run by the Priestly Society of St Peter (FSSP). Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Nebraska, will celebrate Solemn Mass in the Extraordinary From – of course – in a ceremony to...

LCWR President Franciscan Sister J. Lora Dambroski RomeOfficers of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious met April 22 with Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, after having been informed weeks earlier that his congregation had begun a “doctrinal assessment” of the women’s organization.Neither the congregation nor officers of the conference released any statement after the meeting. The Vatican spokesperson, Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi, confirmed to NCR that the meeting took place, describing it as “very serene,” and said that the officers of the conference “now have all the elements for understanding the...

Regarding the Instruction Dignitas PersonaeAim In recent years, biomedical research has made great strides, opening new possibilities for the treatment of disease, but also giving rise to serious questions which had not been directly treated in the Instruction Donum vitae (22 February 1987).  A new Instruction, which is dated 8 September 2008, the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, seeks to provide some responses to these new bioethical questions, as these have been the focus of expectations and concerns in large sectors of society.  In this way, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith seeks both...

Vienna, May 30, 2008 / 04:54 pm (CNA).- In response to a report in the Italian daily “La Repubblica” that Cardinal Christoph Schönborn could become the new Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the spokesman for the Archdiocese of Vienna, Erich Leitenberger, said on Stephanscom Austrian Radio that the rumor was unfounded.On May 25, La Repubblica published an article by Marco Politi in which he offered a “general analysis” of the General Assembly of the Bishops’ Conference of Italy. Commenting on the rumor about Cardinal Schönborn, Politi said a personnel change at the Vatican was possible...

Vatican City, May 6, 2008 / 11:03 am (CNA).- Today Pope Benedict appointed members to the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts and the Congregation for the Clergy. Among the appointees are two American archbishops and one cardinal.  The Council for Legislative Texts’ main task consists of interpreting the laws of the Church – both the laws concerning the Latin Rite and the common laws of the Eastern Catholic churches.The new appointments are: Cardinals Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops; Ivan Dias, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples; Lluis Martinez Sistach, archbishop of Barcelona, Spain; Oswald...

Far from “diminishing other faith communities,” the Holy See’s recent instruction on the status of non-Catholic churches points out that "outside the Catholic Church elements of holiness and truth do exist and that the Holy Spirit is working in those other communities and churches as well," Cardinal William Levada told the archdiocesan newspaper Catholic San Francisco. Levada, formerly archbishop of San Francisco, is the prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which on July 10 issued “Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine of the Church.” The document reiterated the teaching that the Church...

In an act of jaw-dropping hubris, Pope Benedict Joseph Ratzinger recently declared Protestantism's churches "not true churches." In an effort to underscore the wisdom of such a position at this time, he then had his "document" signed by none other than Cardinal William Levada, a pro-gay, pro-pedophile, pro-molestation cleric hailing recently from San Francisco and Portland. Apparently hypocrisy is in abundant supply in the Vatican larder. Levada is one of the papal appointments that causes either great puzzlement about (or gives great insight into) this Pope's orientation. Fresh off of scandals in his previous appointments, Levada received one of the...

Pope: Some Christian Denominations Not True Churches LORENZAGO DI CADORE, Italy - Pope Benedict XVI has reasserted the universal primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document released Tuesday that says Orthodox churches were defective and that other Christian denominations were not true churches. (snip) The document, signed by the congregation (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) prefect, U.S. Cardinal William Levada, was approved by Benedict on June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul - a major ecumenical feast day. Homosexual Activists Cheer Appointment of New San Francisco Archbishop (to Replace Levada)By Hilary White The LA...

Earlier this month, as Cardinal Edward Egan reached the retirement age of 75, it didn't take long for the buzzmill to hit a fever pitch with visions, rumblings, floaters and speculations of the succession to one of global Catholicism's most visible posts, the archbishopric of New York. Tomorrow's start to Year Three of B16 has brought a fresh set of reports predicting "revolution" or "earthquake" in the Roman Curia. Of course, prior alarms of the same all failed to come to pass, but when even the papal intimates are talking openly of "surprises" -- and others of "big surprises" --...

ANN ARBOR, MI – A virulently anti-Catholic resolution unanimously passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors condemning Catholic moral teaching on homosexuality and urging the Archbishop of San Francisco and Catholic Charities of San Francisco to defy Church directives prohibiting gay adoptions has prompted a federal lawsuit by the Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The lawsuit, brought on behalf of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights and two San Francisco Catholic citizens, challenges the anti-Catholic resolution as a “startling attack by government officials on the Catholic Church,...

Cardinal William Levada took possession of his titular church Sunday in the heart of the Italian capital, where he was greeted by a crowd of cheering faithful and pilgrims - many of them Americans. Levada, who was elevated to cardinal during Friday's consistory, was assigned to the St. Mary in Domnica church where he held a festive two-hour-long Mass. "I'm very delighted of being titular of this basilica, a parish in this historical zone in the city of Rome," he said at the beginning of his homily. "I hope to be able to come here often." St. Mary's in Domnica,...

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass with his 15 new cardinals on the steps of St. Peter’s Square on Saturday, welcoming them as his new partners in running the Catholic Church and giving them their symbolic rings. Tens of thousands of people -- family, friends and supporters of the new "princes" of the church -- packed the square, waving flags from the cardinals’ 11 homelands and toting banners adorned with their pictures.During the Mass, Benedict placed a golden ring engraved with a crucifix and Benedict’s papal seal on each man’s right hand. The Pope said the ring...

VATICAN CITY, MARCH 23, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Cardinals, those special advisers to and collaborators with the popes, have a long history and varied duties. They oversee the presbyterates of 25 titular and quasi parish churches of Rome, of which seven are regional deaconries and six Palatine deaconries, and seven suburban sees. The Pontifical Yearbook explains that the College of Cardinals was formed in 1150, with a cardinal dean, who is the bishop of Ostia, and the chamberlain, who on the death of a pope is in charge of the administration of the affairs of the Holy See. Since 1059 the cardinals...

VATICAN CITY, MARCH 23, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The red hat that 15 new cardinals will receive from Benedict XVI on Friday will manifest their willingness to shed their blood for the Church. The Pope will attest to this during the consistory for the elevation of new cardinals, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. local time in St. Peter's Square. According to the new rite introduced in the June 1991 consistory, the ceremony will begin with a liturgical greeting and the Holy Father's reading of the formula of elevation and of the solemn proclamation of the names of the new cardinals. The first of...

Leaders of the Roman Catholic Church began gathering in Rome for a day of "prayer and reflection" ahead of the first consistory under Pope Benedict XVI, in which he will elevate 15 cardinals who will help him guide the world's more than one billion Catholics. The day of prayer on Thursday will be a kind of "brainstorming" session to discuss problems facing the Church worldwide, what observers say is an example of Benedict's stated intention to have greater collegiality, or consultation, within the Church. The gathering of top clergy will show the two faces of the Roman Catholic Church in...

AS SECOND in command at the Vatican, you would think that San Francisco's former archbishop, William Levada, has enough on has hands -- namely, a backlog of some 700 priest-abuse cases. But in response to a recent inquiry by a Boston Globe reporter regarding his role in the placement of three children with gay parents during his time as archbishop, Levada sent an e-mail to the San Francisco archdiocese making his opposition to the practice clear. "It has been, and remains, my position that Catholic agencies should not place children for adoption in homosexual households." Because of the conflict between...

ROME (CNS) -- Cardinal-designate William J. Levada said a priest who publicly announces he is homosexual makes it difficult for people to see the priest as representing Christ, the bridegroom of his bride, the church. A public declaration of homosexuality places a priest "at odds with the spousal character of love as revealed by God and imaged in humanity," said the U.S. cardinal-designate, who is prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Cardinal-designate Levada made his remarks during a Feb. 26 homily as he presided over a Mass for the installation of the new rector of Rome's...

Archbishop Levada, the man the Pope appointed to his old job, has spoken out rather forcefully on the need to remain faithful to the Church's Magisterial teachings. However, over time his position has evolved. Interestingly, back in the 1970's, Levada made statements which seem to indicate that he believed that papal infallibility is limited to matters of faith - but not to moral issues such as abortion. Obviously, one of the significant implications of such a view would be that Catholic politicians would be free to either oppose or support abortion. However, in his comments following the publication of John...

San Francisco -- Former Archbishop William Levada was expected to answer questions from lawyers Monday about how the Portland diocese handled priest sex abuse cases during his tenure there. Levada was served with a subpoena Aug. 10, right before he left for Rome to take over as prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the position formerly held by Pope Benedict XVI. It's the highest Vatican post ever held by an American. Levada served as archbishop in Portland from 1986 to 1995 before transferring to San Francisco. In 2004, Portland became the first Catholic diocese in...

wo lawyers representing Oregon molestation victims have raised questions about the role San Francisco Archbishop William Levada played in a priestly sex abuse scandal that led to this week's unprecedented bankruptcy of the Archdiocese of Portland. Levada, who served as the archbishop of Portland from 1986 to 1995, oversaw church disciplinary proceedings against two Oregon priests accused of child molestation, including one who was put back in regular parish ministry in 1994, following a brief period of "rehabilitation," the attorneys say.

As he prepares to be deposed in San Francisco next week, former S.F. Archbishop William Levada may have to come clean about a priestly child molester he protected in Portland. By Ron Russell In April 2004, when questioned under oath by lawyers for victims sexually abused by priests, San Francisco's former archbishop, William J. Levada, was asked about Father Joseph Baccellieri, a parish priest accused of child molestation whom Levada removed from ministry in 1992 while archbishop of Portland. Levada restored Baccellieri to his post two years later. "I believe there was some allegation that occurred while I was there,"...

PORTLAND, Ore. Attorneys for alleged victims of sex abuse are asking a federal judge to let them question a top-ranking Vatican official about a church doctrine that might permit him to lie under oath.Archbishop William Levada (leh-VAY'-duh) has agreed to be questioned during a January ninth deposition about his tenure as archbishop of Portland from 1986 to 1995. The San Francisco prelate is the Vatican's guardian of doctrinal orthodoxy.Attorneys for the victims want to ask Levada whether he would rely on the so-called doctrine of "mental reservation" when answering questions at the deposition in San Francisco. Although the Catholic church...

The Prefect for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop William Levada, sat down for an interview on Monday with Charles Collins. Archbishop Levada served as an official of the Congregation 20 years ago, and began describing how things have changed.WHAT IS LIKE TO BE THE PREFECT OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH AFTER HAVING WORKED THERE FOR 20 YEARS?It is a big change for someone who was a working official in the doctrinal section and who comes back as the prefect. I was unaware of all of the duties of the prefect and was happy to have...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The first week of this fall's Synod of Bishops followed a long-standing tradition: Bishops from all over the world gave speeches all over the map, while the media focused on a few hot-button issues. The press tended to view the Oct. 2-23 assembly as a showdown debate on married priests, eucharistic sharing, Catholic politicians and Communion for divorced Catholics. The actual content of the first 30 hours and 250,000 words of synod discussion included those topics, but was less dramatic than the headlines. The bishops, in fact, ranged far and wide in choosing subjects for their...

Archbishop William Levada said he will leave San Francisco for the Vatican with a clear conscience. He believes that he was able to restore order and direction to an archdiocese that was reeling from church closures and clergy misbehavior. He defended his handling of sexual abuse cases and is proud of having reopened some closed parishes and reconfigured others. "I wasn't filled with dread when I came here but I knew there were problems I would have to address," Levada said. "I knew I was going into a very concentrated center that had some hot-button issues." He also acknowledged areas...

The First Sentence from Prefect Levada Makes the Legion Tremble The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has handed down a stiff sentence against Fr. Gino Burresi. The transgressions? The same ones charged against Fr. Marcial Maciel, founder of the powerful Legionaries of Christ by Sandro Magister ROMA, July 28, 2005 – On July 19, the Catholic newspaper "Avvenire" published the following note from the general secretariat of the Italian bishops' conference (CEI): "Following the decree handed down on May 27, 2005, by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, notice is hereby given that the following canonical...

The question of how to treat gay and lesbian people seems about to start causing even more division between church people. The Greater Milwaukee Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will recommend to the Churchwide Assembly that the ELCA permit gays and lesbians in committed relationships to be ordained. The General Synod of the United Church of Christ will debate competing resolutions at its national meeting in July. One would endorse the concept of same-sex marriage; the other would have the church affirm that marriage should be only between a man and a woman. What these resolutions, plus...

Archbishop William Levada, the new head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said his pastoral experience makes him sympathetic to the doctrinal and teaching challenges faced by local bishops around the world. In an interview with Catholic News Service yesterday, Archbishop Levada - outgoing Archbishop of San Francisco - also said that while the Congregation sometimes must discipline errant theologians, its primary work is positive - safeguarding sound doctrine so the faith can be shared with the world. That task is something all theologians should share, he said. Archbishop Levada was visiting the doctrinal congregation's offices....

A gift for compromise In nearly 19 years as a metropolitan, how has Archbishop Levada distinguished himself? Within the US bishops’ conference he is seen as moderately conservative: a prelate who will uphold the doctrine of the Church without condemning those who oppose Church teachings. Writing in 1994 about the reception of the new "Catechism of the Catholic Church" , Archbishop Levada rejected the notion that Catholics are free to pick and choose among Church teachings. He wrote: A "cafeteria" approach to the faith has no basis in Scripture or the Church’ s tradition. Indeed, it has always been the...

Archbishop Levada being incensed by an altar girlEcumenical Archbishop Levada toHead Sacred Congregationfor the Doctrine of the Faith “I consider myself to be in the exact middle of the roadas to where I should be as a bishop.”1 - Archbishop William Levadaby John VennariPope Benedict XVI appointed San Francisco’s Archbishop William Levada as Prefect of the Vatican’s Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The announcement came on May 13, the same day Pope Benedict announced he had placed Pope John Paul II on the fasttrack to beatification, bypassing the prudent five-year waiting period.By appointing Levada, Benedict XVI has indeed...

SAN FRANCISCO — The selection of San Francisco’s archbishop to head the Vatican department charged with protecting and promoting the Church’s teachings makes William Joseph Levada possibly the highest ranking American churchman ever. On the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, Pope Benedict XVI announced the appointment of Archbishop Levada to his old job as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In that post, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was dubbed by his critics “the enforcer” and “the Pope’s Rottweiler.” Archbishop Levada described himself at a news conference as “more a cocker spaniel.”The Archbishop, 68, knows...

It may surprise some of you to learn that old Akron Al is happy to see that the Archbishop of San Francisco will be the new Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. But how can this be? Archbishop William J. Levada of San Francisco did absolutely nothing to clean up his cesspool of an archdiocese. Just check out Bettnet today if you haven't heard enough about this guy. So how can I prefer Levada over the man who is now Pope? The answer is simple. At least with Levada we know what we are getting. Cardinal...

By Jerry Filteau Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Archbishop William J. Levada of San Francisco, newly named head of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is a theologian with pastoral experience honed by involvement in several debates over Catholic moral teaching and public policy. He has been a national or international figure on questions ranging from gay marriage to theological dissent in the church, from abortion to euthanasia, from ecumenical dialogue to women in the church, from catechetical teaching to how the church should deal with Catholic politicians who support legalized abortion. He was archbishop of...

The NCR's John Allen has a chat in a Roman café with San Francisco Archbishop William Levada, who is distressed by "aggressive Pentecostal and evangelical movements making strong inroads into traditionally Catholic populations" in the U.S. Why do these people bother to go after Catholics? "These are people acting out of their own sense of the missionary apostolate. They are not people touched by the vision of ecumenism. They are convinced that Catholics are going to Hell and need to be saved, so they reach out to them." Can you beat that? These folks really believe that there really is...

The founding chairman of a panel formed by San Francisco's Roman Catholic Archdiocese to look into allegations of priestly child abuse has resigned from the board, accusing church leaders of "deception, manipulation and control'' for refusing to release the investigation's results. James Jenkins, one of six members of the Independent Review Board and its chairman until last December, said Archbishop William Levada has blocked the release of the panel's findings on sexual-abuse allegations involving 40 priests. At least nine of those priests have agreed to refrain from "public ministry," the archdiocese said Thursday without identifying them. "There has been no...

Press Release Source: Rainbow Sash Movement The Following Statement Has Been Issued by the Rainbow Sash Movement: Pentecost Once Again Calls for Dialogue on Gay/Lesbian Catholics Sunday May 15, 9:28 pm ET CHICAGO, May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Pentecost has come and gone, and the sky has not fallen. For members of the Rainbow Sash Movement (RSM) nationally it was a time of deep prayer. Around the Nation members of the Rainbow Sash Movement entered Cathedrals and parishes. Such as Rochester New York where individuals tried to block the way of Rainbow Sash Members from receiving communion. Eventually the Rainbow Sash...

Reflections on Catholics in Political Life and the Reception of Holy Communionby Archbishop William J. Levada June 13, 2004 In an opinion piece carried by The New York Times on May 28, 2004, Kenneth Woodward neatly sums up the issue before the bishops' Task Force on Catholics in Public Life this way: "The point of contention is whether Catholic politicians ... can claim to be Catholics in good standing, and therefore worthy of the Eucharist, while vigorously pursuing a policy of `choice' that is tantamount to unrestricted abortion." Over the years since the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court...

When Pope John Paul II died early last month, papal pundits were consumed with the idea that the world's cardinals might replace him with an African or Latin American pope -- someone from a part of the world where the Catholic Church finds its greatest growth, and perhaps, its future. Instead, they elected German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, a longtime Vatican insider, as Pope Benedict XVI. On Friday, Benedict named an American, San Francisco Archbishop William Levada, as his chief doctrinal watchdog for the 1.1 billion Catholics around the world. To some observers, the election of a German pope and the...

12-May-2005 -- Catholic News Agency APPOINTMENT OF ARCHBISHOP LEVADA TO THE CDF "JUST A RUMOR" OFFICIAL SAY SAN FRANCISCO, USA, May 12 (CNA) - The spokesman for the Archdiocese of San Francisco dismissed as "rumors" recent reports announcing that Archbishop William Joseph Levada was about to be appointed as the new Prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Mr. Maurice Healy, spokesman for the San Francisco diocese, dismissed the speculation as rumor, telling the Associated Press that the recent meeting between the Archbishop and Pope Benedict XVI was just a "courtesy call." Time magazine reported Tuesday...

On May 13, as had long been rumored, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Archbishop William J. Levada of San Francisco as the new prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Why Levada? First, he has a solid theological background. He wrote his doctoral thesis in theology at Rome's Gregorian University under the direction of Jesuit Fr. Francis Sullivan, widely regarded as one of the best minds in ecclesiology of the 20th century. The subject of Levada's dissertation was "The Infallible Church Magisterium and the Natural Moral Law," examining how the magisterium understands natural law, and especially its binding...

The Declaration Dominus Jesus issued by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on Tuesday reaffirms the fundamental teaching of Christian revelation, as handed down in the Catholic Church, on the role of Jesus Christ and the role of the Catholic Church in our salvation. The declaration, which was approved and affirmed by the Holy Father, proceeds from a theological context and presents classic truths of the Catholic faith in contrast to relativistic theories. The declaration is a response to several confusing or erroneous ideas regarding what it means to call Jesus Christ the one savior of the...

LEVADA SEEN AS TOO CONSERVATIVE BY LIBERALS AND TOO LIBERAL BY CONSERVATIVES The New York Times reports today (5/14): "When Archbishop William J. Levada was appointed ten years ago to lead the Roman Catholic archdiocese of San Francisco, he brought with him a reputation as an assertive protector of Church orthodoxy. In his previous post in Portland, Ore., he helped lead the fight against a state measure approving physician-assisted suicide, because the Church opposes euthanasia. In the 1990's he served on a Vatican committee that stripped the gender-inclusive language from a lectionary proposed by the American Bishops Conference. When an...

Fr. Eugene Heidt and Archbishop Levada Excerpted from “Priest Where Is Thy Mass, Mass Where Is Thy Priest.” Q: So obedience is not really an objection against saying the traditional Mass, when you consider that it’s not forbidden by the Church? Fr. H: Correct. There is no question of disobedience involved here, no way. Q: How did your convictions about the old Mass sit with the Chancery? Fr. H: Things just got worse. A couple of years before, I had written a letter about what they called the “Stewardship Council.” That was a program that they used to raise money...

  From newtimesla.com Originally published by New Times L.A. Jun 13, 2002 ©2002 New Times, Inc. All rights reserved. Mahony's Cronies In covering up for predator priests, Cardinal Roger Mahony's stayed true to a prestigious old boys' network of fellow alums from St. John's Seminary in Camarillo. By Ron Russell When Roger M. Mahony pulled the plug on child-molesting priest Carl Sutphin earlier this year after elevating him only recently to associate pastor of the soon-to-open Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral downtown, the cardinal's visible anguish stemmed from more than just embarrassment. In announcing the 69-year-old Sutphin's departure in...