Prefect of The Congregation For The Doctrine of The Faith
| Styles of William Joseph Levada |
|
|---|---|
| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | San Francisco (emeritus) |
On May 13, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Levada as his own successor in the post of Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the principal defender of 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.
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. Levada was replaced in San Francisco as Archbishop by high school classmate George Niederauer.
On March 24, 2006, Benedict XVI elevated Levada to the College of Cardinals, making him eligible to participate in any future papal conclaves that begin before his 80th birthday on June 15, 2016. Levada was named Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria in Domnica.
In addition to his position as Prefect of the CDF, Cardinal Levada is the president of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, the International Theological Commission, and the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei. Levada's other curial positions include membership in the Congregation for Bishops, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, the Congregation for Catholic Education, the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. On January 5, 2011 he was appointed among the first members of the newly created Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation.
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