Pope Names an American as Head of the Holly Office of Doctrine (Inquis

R

Realmhiker

Guest
As I was driving today, I heard on ABC news that Pope Benedictine the XVI has hired an American to take over the Office of the Inquisition. Now, it was very quickly on the radio show, so I could not hear more details. When I got home I tried looking the info on the internet and it was curiously absent from most f the engines I searched on. If anyone can find an article and post here for me I would appreciate it.

Also, it made me wonder how interesting that a Catholic office historically connected to torture and intolerance will now at this junction in time be held by an American. Any thoughts on this?
 
Here is what I believe you are looking for: it is not straightforward, however, as the Vatican has changed the name (see below). In fact as you will see, the current Pope formerly held the office of the Inquisition...

WFSB News said:
Sadness, joy mark installation of new Catholic cardinals

VATICAN CITY -- From traditional crimson robes to the rare sight of the red flag of China, St. Peter's Square was a study in scarlet on Friday.


Pope Benedict XVI warmly embraced 15 new cardinals _ among them, Boston Archbishop Sean O'Malley _ in a ritual-filled ceremony that displayed the worldwide reach of the Roman Catholic Church.

In a poignant moment, tears welled in his eyes as he gripped the shoulder of the Polish prelate who faithfully served his predecessor for 40 years.

The tribute to Pope John Paul II drew long applause from the crowd in St. Peter's Square as Benedict elevated Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, the late pontiff's private secretary, as well as key churchmen from Hong Kong, Boston, Venezuela and the Philippines. They are now members of the elite group who will eventually choose the German pope's successor.

Coming from North and South America, Europe and Asia, they showed the global power of the 1 billion-member Roman Catholic Church.

One by one, they walked up to Benedict, who was seated on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica, knelt before him and received a "biretta," a four-sided hat with three distinct ridges on its upper side whose crimson color signifies their willingness to shed blood for the church. When the 87-year-old Peter Poreku Dery of Ghana was brought up in a wheelchair, the pope rose from his throne to embrace him.

"I felt wonderful, especially when the pope stood up and gave me a kiss," Dery said.

O'Malley, who was installed as archbishop in Boston in 2003 after the clergy sex abuse scandal led to his predecessor's departure, was among the new cardinals, along with William Levada, formerly the archbishop of San Francisco and Portland, Ore.

Levada took over Benedict's old job as prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican's chief doctrinal watchdog.


The new cardinals also included Hong Kong Bishop Joseph Zen, a champion of religious freedom in China, Archbishop Jorge Liberato Urosa Savino of Caracas, Venezuela, who has sought to reduce tensions between the church and President Hugo Chavez, and Archbishop Gaudencio B. Rosales of Manila, Philippines, the Catholic bastion of Asia.

At one point during the ceremony, a man waved the red flag of China in the crowd _ an unusual sight at the Vatican.

"The Holy Father loves China and I hope to be of service to him," the Hong Kong cardinal told The Associated Press at a reception for the new "princes" of the church in the frescoed rooms of the Apostolic Palace.

The pope has been reaching out to China, which broke relations with Vatican after the Communists came to power.

"The church in Venezuela, the bishop conference and me, we are trying to promote dialogue," the Caracas clergyman said. "We hope the actual government may move toward freedom, justice and peace and inclusion of all Venezuelans, without the exclusion of anyone and with an attitude of tolerance."

Thousands stood in line to greet the new cardinals, with many pushing and shoving to try to reach John Paul's longtime secretary.

"I thought of the 2,000 years of history of the church, of St. Peter who gave up his life," said O'Malley. "And now there I was. ... Who would have thought?"

Earlier, he was asked what was said when he passed by Cardinal Bernard Law, his predecessor in Boston, upon receiving his red hat. "I don't recall the exact words but they were words of congratulations," O'Malley replied.

Benedict told the prelates he was counting on them to spread the principles of love and charity that he had highlighted in his first encyclical, "God is Love."

"May the scarlet that you now wear always express Christ's charity, inspiring you to a passionate love for Christ, for his church and for all humanity," he said. "I am counting on you, dear brother cardinals, to ensure that the principle of love will spread far and wide, and will give new life to the church at every level of her hierarchy."

"I am counting on you to see to it that our common endeavor to fix our gaze on Christ's open heart will hasten and secure the path toward the full unity of Christians," he said.

Benedict has said unifying all Christians is a priority of his pontificate.

The cardinals also were each assigned a "titular" church in Rome to cement their links to the Eternal City. The new cardinals will get their rings during a Mass on Saturday in St. Peter's Square.

Levada spoke on behalf of the new cardinals, telling the pope they gave him their unconditional loyalty, "free of concern for ourselves and our own lives, as this scarlet (robe) unceasingly reminds and warns us."

Benedict announced Feb. 22 that he was naming the new cardinals, 12 of whom are under age 80 and thus eligible to vote in a conclave. The additions raised the total number of cardinals to 193, 120 of whom can vote.

While electing a pontiff is the primary task of cardinals, they also are called on to advise the pope on running the church.

Following Friday's ceremony, Europe will still have the vast majority of cardinals at 100, 60 of whom are of voting age. Latin America is next with 20 voting-age cardinals, followed by North America with 16. Asia has 13, Africa nine and Oceania two.

___

AP reporters Daniela Petroff and Marta Falconi in Rome contributed to this article.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

http://www.wfsb.com/Global/story.asp?S=4678881
Now, here is the bit where the titles have been changed:

Wikipedia said:
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

History
On July 21, 1542 Pope Paul III, with the Constitution Licet ab initio, established the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, staffed by cardinals and other officials whose task it was "to maintain and defend the integrity of the faith and to examine and proscribe errors and false doctrines". It served as the final court of appeal in trials of heresy and served as an important part of the Counter-Reformation. In reaction to the excesses of the Spanish Inquisition, it was tightly controlled by strict procedural rules under the administration of Francisco Peña.

This body was renamed the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office in 1908 by Pope Saint Pius X. It was changed to Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on December 7, 1965, at the end of the Second Vatican Council. In 1983, with the new code of canon law, "Sacred" was dropped from the names of Vatican Congregations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congregation_for_the_Doctrine_of_the_Faith
Hope it helps!
 
Thank you Alchemy. This article is very reveling in some ways about the continuing plans for World domination of the Roman church. Benedict XVI even reffers to his cardinals as SENATORS. I guess the Roman Catholic Church still has Roman Empire nostalgia, and what better way to continuing than by making an American bishop head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.
 
http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=1551
Is the Pope a Catholic? by Henry Makow Ph.D

THIS IS important link:
http://web.tiscali.it/chiesalternativa/funerali.htm


italy.indymedia.org/news/2005/04/775515_comment.php#775806
 
REalmhiker,
Mons. Levada is the current Prefect Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, (ex-Sacred Congregation of Roman and Universal Inquisition).
He was elected last year, as states Radio Vaticana. What kind of "fresh" news for ABC?

13 march 2005 - Radio Vaticana http://www.oecumene.radiovaticana.org/IT1/Articolo.asp?Id=36709
Today The Pope Benedict XVI nominated Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede, ) mons. William Joseph Levada, archbishop of San Francisco since 1995.

www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/index_it.htm
Monsignor Levada, a fourth generation Californian of Portuguese and Irish origin, a priest since 1961, has already worked in the former Holy Office, as simple official, from 1976 to 1982. Appointed auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles in 1983, he was promoted three years later to archbishop of Portland in Oregon, where he remained until 1995. From 1986 to 1993 he was the only American bishop on the Commission that compiled the Catechism of the Catholic Church. From 2000 he was a member of the Congregation of which he is now Prefect.

Mons. Levada biography from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Joseph_Levada
William Joseph Cardinal Levada, (born 15 June 1936, Long Beach, California) is a Roman Catholic cardinal, currently serving in the Roman Curia as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Levada became a cardinal in the consistory of March 24, 2006.
Levada's previous positions include that of Archbishop of Portland in Oregon from 1986 to 1995, and Archbishop of San Francisco 1995 to 2005. He was also a principal editor of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Biography
Early life and clerical formation
Levada was born in Long Beach, California on June 15, 1936. His great-grandparents came from Portugal and Ireland, and immigrated to the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1860s. He grew up in Long Beach, California and Houston, Texas, and attended a college seminary in the Roman Catholic Archidiocese of Los Angeles.
From 1958 to 1961, Levada attended seminary at the North American College and did his theological studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He was ordained a priest on December 20, 1961.
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Priestly ministry
From 1961 until around 1966, Levada worked in parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, including St. Monica's Church in Santa Monica. He also taught high school and worked in college campus ministry.
After this, he returned to Rome and continued his studies at the North American College. He received a doctorate in sacred theology. His 1971 dissertation was written under Francis A. Sullivan, SJ. In the early 1970s, he returned to the United States and taught theology at St. John's Seminary School of Theology in Camarillo, California. During this time he was also named the first Director of Continuing Education for the Clergy in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and received the title Monsignor.
From 1976 to 1982, Levada was an official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican. He had been recommeded by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin. During this time, he taught part-time at the Pontifical Gregorian University. At the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Levada served under three popes (Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul I, and Pope John Paul II), and under two prefects of the CDF (Franjo Cardinal Seper and Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger).
In 1982, Los Angeles Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Manning named Levada as the Executive Director of the California Catholic Conference of Bishops in Sacramento, the public policy arm of the Church in California.
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Episcopal ministry
Levada was ordained a bishop on May 12, 1983 to the titular see of Capreae, and was assigned as an auxiliary bishop to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. In 1984 he was appointed Episcopal Vicar of Santa Barbara County. In 1986 he was appointed chancellor and moderator of the archdiocesan curia. Serving under Roger Cardinal Mahony, Levada reorganized the internal structure of the diocese.
On September 21, 1986, Levada became the Archbishop of Portland. During his tenure in Portland, Levada help to revitalize Mount Angel Seminary. Levada briefly taught at the Seminary as well. Other accomplishments in Portland included reorganizing Catholic Charities, working in outreach to the Hispanic Catholic community, and renovating St. Mary's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
In 1987, Levada and six other Bishops were chosen by Cardinal Ratzinger to edit the forthcoming Catechism of the Catholic Church. When the Catechism was completed in 1993, the first English translation was very loose and used a great deal of inclusive language. Along with Archbishop Eric D'Arcy of Hobart, Australia and Fr. John Wall, Levada insisted that this be replaced with a more literal translation, and it was a new and more literal translation that was published in English in 1994. Levada also authored the glossary for the second edition of the Catechism.
On August 17, 1995, Levada was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of San Francisco, and on December 27 of the same year succeeded John Raphael Quinn as the Archbishop of San Francisco. Some of Levada's most famous actions as Archbishop of San Francisco involved in the issues surrounding gay rights. In 1997, the City of San Francisco passed a law that all companies must provide the same benefits for domestic partners as for their spouses. Levada objected that this violated Catholic teaching on the unique status of marriage, but the city would not budge. Levada's solution was seen as a compromise in some circles and a brilliant move in others: He ruled that unmarried employees of the archdiocese could designate any person sharing the same address as their beneficiary. This complied with the statute while avoiding a privileged status for unmarried domestic partnerships. Levada also allowed a predominantly gay and lesbian parish in the Castro district, Most Holy Redeemer Church to remain active in the Archdiocese.
In November 2000, Levada was appointed one of the members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, where he again served under Cardinal Ratzinger. This was a part-time task which let him remain in California.
Also in 2000, Levada became the Bishop Co-Chair of the Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue in the United States. In November 2003, Levada was appointed as Chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Doctrine. This was a three-year term, but he resigned in 2005 due to his new duties in Rome and was replaced by Arthur J. Serratelli, Bishop of Paterson.
On September 18, 1998, he consecrated Monsignor John C. Wester to the episcopate as an auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco. In January 30, 2003, he consecrated Monsignor Ignatius C. Wang to the episcopate as his second auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco. Bishop Wang, a native of Beijing, is the first Chinese and first Asian Bishop to be ordained for a diocese in the United States.
Some critics have voiced uncertainty about how Levada handled priests who had committed sexual abuse in Portland and in San Francisco. [1] As President and Chancellor of Saint Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park, Archbishop Levada has had to deal with the dismissal of his academic dean at the seminary after the dean's arrest in Santa Rosa on charges apparently related to child pornography and sexual abuse. [2]
Many Traditional Catholics were unhappy with Levada's refusal to allow Tridentine Masses to be celebrated in his Archdiocese.
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Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
On May 13, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Levada to succeed him, the former Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
It was commonly speculated that the pope's reasons for choosing Levada may have included the fact that Levada had been a principal editor of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the fact that the two of them had worked together at the CDF in the past, and the pope's desire to have an American heading the CDF since one of its major roles today is to deal with the fallout from the sexual abuse scandal.
Levada resigned as Archbishop of San Francisco effective August 17, 2005, the tenth anniversary of the announcement of his appointment as coadjutor to San Francisco. One of his last official duties as metropolitan bishop was to serve as principal consecrator of Clarence Richard Silva as the new Bishop of Honolulu, since Honolulu is a suffragan diocese of the San Francisco ecclesiastical province.
On February 22, 2006, Pope Benedict announced that Levada was to be elevated to the College of Cardinals, a nomination which was much foreseen, given his curial position. On March 24, Levada was named the Cardinal Deacon of the Titulus S. Mariae in Domnica.
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Levada's views on theology and society
Archbishop Levada's views reflect the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. To learn his views on most theological and moral questions, it is sufficient to learn the views of the Church.
With regard to certain disputed and controversial topics, the following quotes from Levada are pertinent.
On Catholic teachers who dissent from Catholic teachings:
Catholic theology does not recognize the right to dissent, if by that we mean adopting conclusions which are contrary to the clear teachings of the authoritative, noninfallible magisterium and which are presented to the public in such a way as to constitute equivalently an alternative personal magisterium. (Speech to National Catholic Educational Association, 1986)
On whether specific moral norms fall within the scope of infallibility, Levada's position changed between 1971 and 1995. In 1971, he concluded that infallibility in faith and morals does not extend to specific questions of natural law and moral norms:
Even though there is nothing to prevent a council or a pope from extending [infallibility] to questions of the natural moral law from the point of view of their authority to do so, nevertheless the "prudential" certitude which characterizes the non-scriptural norms of the natural law argues against such an extension.... (Doctoral dissertation, Infallible Church Magisterium and the Natural Law, 1971)
But in 1995, Levada, following Pope John Paul II's encyclical Evangelium Vitae, agreed that in some cases moral norms have been taught infallibly by the ordinary magisterium:
The individual politician, like any Catholic, who is at odds with the teaching of the Church about the principle involved, i.e., that abortion constitutes the killing of innocent human life and is always gravely immoral (cf. Evangelium Vitae, nn. 57-62), has an obligation to reflect more deeply on the issue, in the hope of allowing the persuasive character of this infallibly taught teaching to become part of his belief and value system. I say infallibly taught not because Pope John Paul II has assumed in Evangelium Vitae the special prerogative recognized for individual papal teachings in the First Vatican Council, but rather because he has called attention explicitly to the fact that Catholic teaching on abortion has been an infallible doctrine of the Church by virtue of the universal ordinary Magisterium, recognized for the teachings of the Pope and worldwide college of bishops together by the Second Vatican Council. (From The Catholic Sentinel, 6/2/1995)
Archbishop Levada has been criticized by LGBT associations for his denunciation of same-sex marriage. He wrote in 2004:
Heterosexual marriage, procreation and the nurturing of children form the bedrock of the family, and the family unit lies at the heart of every society. To extend the meaning of marriage beyond a union of a man and a woman, their procreative capacity, and their establishment of family represents a misguided understanding of marriage.
Levada also led a march of approximately 1,000 people through the streets of San Francisco in April of 2005 in protest of gay marriage.
On Catholic politicians:
A Catholic, to be in full communion with the faith of the Church, must accept this teaching about the evil of abortion and euthanasia.

On Islam:
If both Islam and Christianity view themselves as universal and missionary, it does not mean an impasse but an opportunity to search further into the mystery of that faith to see how it resonates and relates to the other's faith.
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Significance of Levada's role
As Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Levada is the principal defender of all the moral and theological doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church, sometimes acting as chief prosecutor against members of the Church who have strayed from those values. As the most influential position in the government of the Church apart from the Holy Father himself, Levada is considered the highest ranking American in the institution.
Other Americans heading dicasteries in the Roman Curia and associated institutions include Edmund Cardinal Szoka, Governor of Vatican City and President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State; James Francis Cardinal Stafford, Major Penitentiary; Archbishop James Harvey, Prefect of the Pontifical Household and Archbishop John Foley, President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.
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Sources
- Biography of Levada from Archdiocese of San Francisco website
- Vatican news bulletin announcing Levada's nomination (May 13, 2005)
- Statement of Levada on his appointment as Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (May 13, 2005)
- Article in National Catholic Reporter by John Allen analyzing the choice of Levada (May 13, 2005)
- Profile of Levada in the San Francisco Chronicle (May 14, 2005)
- Most Holy Redeemer Parish (May 17, 2005)
Preceded by:
Cornelius Michael Power
Archbishop of Portland
1986-1995
Succeeded by:
Francis Cardinal George, OMI

Preceded by:
John Raphael Quinn
Archbishop of San Francisco
1995-2005
Succeeded by:
George Hugh Niederauer

Preceded by:
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
2005-present
Incumbent

Site on program Libertatis Conscientia of Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,
http://www.alleanzacattolica.org/temi/teologia/cdf_libertatis_conscientia.htm


foto of Mons. Levada from http://www.politicaonline.net/forum/showthread.php?t=166650

archbishop.jpg

Levada_0242.jpg


While digging into Vatican II (slight changes in funerals procedure, Liturgy, vestments, etc.),
found this on Texe Marrs site:
http://www.texemarrs.com/churches_pastors_gone_wild.htm
good read!

info on Congregation of Faith (in italian)
http://paganitas.altervista.org/articol12.htm (The shades of Vatican)
on changes of funerals procedure of several last Popes
http://web.tiscali.it/chiesalternativa/funerali.htm (in italian, well researched)

Hope, will be helpful
 
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