Posted on 05/10/2005 11:07:47 AM PDT by old and tired
It appears, based on very reliable sources, that indeed Archbishop William Levada of San Francisco is going to be appointed the new Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
This is not good news. Archbishop Levada is the prelate who compromised with the city of San Francisco over the citys demands that Catholic Charities and other Church organizations provide domestic partner benefits to employees. His archdiocese is also a mess with dissenting priests, homosexual activists running all over the place, the University of San Francisco trampling the faith, and more.
Im really very surprised by this. I would have thought that Pope Benedict would have seen this for what it was, especially considering his close association with Father Fessio, who had been in San Francisco for many years.
Maybe he sees something we dont. I hope.
(Excerpt) Read more at bettnet.com ...
In the absence of a deacon, at the conclusion of incensing the altar at the beginning of Mass, and at the conclusion of incensing the altar after the offering of the gifts, the server incenses the celebrant. In the second instance, the server also incenses the congregation.
I agree with you. It doesn't past the smell test.
For heaven's sake, people! Give BXVI some credit in being able to discern who he can trust.
Let's wait and see how this pans out. It could have actually been a brilliant move on Pope Benedict's part. He may wish to keep the archbishop close for re-education purposes and he may have something in mind for the U.S., which needs reigning in.
We do have to remember that some of these "sources" had Cardinal Mahony being elected Pope, so I think it should be taken with a grain of salt. I can't imagine that Levada would be the head of anything as important as the CDF, but I can imagine that he will be removed from SF - however, in such a way that he will not be humiliated. He's been awful, but he's been quietly awful; as a result, he will probably be given a Vatican position that simply gets him off the stage.
Fr. Fessio knows the Pope very well, and Fr. Fessio is from SF - in fact, he suffered at the hands of the very heterodox Jesuits at USF who now appear to be big buddies with Levada - so maybe somebody has already "gotten to the Pope," as Time puts it.
Folks, please see Lee Penn's posts number 35 and 36 regarding Abp. Levada! Lee has studied the United Religion Initiative in more depth than any Catholic. Anybody who has read New Oxford Review should recognize Lee's name.
Ugh...
FWIW, Levada was known as a solid man, which is why he got SanFran.
It's possible that the SanFran situation is not "fixable"--but then again, even if it's not, why would Levada issue some of the silly stuff he wrote?
Another possibility: this is a Walter Kasper move.
Elevate the trouble to a position directly under your thumb, and then ignore everything they say and do.
In the meantime, move the Oakland Bishop into SanFran.
Insightful remark.
No reason that either the extreme Left OR extreme Right hasn't put this 'rumor' into play.
Another Jesuit-order termite...
The Church doesn't toss Bishops out of the Church, most of the time, they get "promotions" to "important" fact finding missions, and titular posts where they can do no harm.
I floated this idea last night with Lee: Could this be a case of "Promoveatur ut removeatur"?, i.e., "to promote in order to remove"?
That is a good definition for "Promoveatur ut removeatur."
The idea of a promotion to obscurity had crossed my mind as well. However, it seems odd that the Holy Father would do that with a position that he himself held less than a month ago.
Is the Oakland bishop good?
That's the first thought that crossed my mind. I'm sure Pope Benedict is more than aware of the moral cesspool in San Francisco, and perhaps this is a way of moving out Levada and getting a tougher bishop in SF.
Have faith, people. The Church will NEVER teach error, and it appears that Pope Benedict has made it clear that he will not necessarily be a missionary pope, but an activist from Rome. I don't think Levada will be more than a rubber stamp for the Pope, who knows his way around the CDF, himself.
Sterling.
Was in Detroit as Auxiliary and had the Sem. A good friend taught at the Sem and was VERY impressed with the Bishop's orthodoxy, zeal, and knowledge of the Church.
Sem enrollments went up, and most of the termites were dismissed from faculty/staff positions.
Pope Benedict is the equivalent of George Steinbrenner, Levada will be the equivalent of Brian Cashman, GM of the Yankees. The dealmaker is Steinbrenner. Cashman follows orders. Benedict knows his way around CDF, and Levada will be loathe to cross any boundaries already set up by then-Cardinal Ratzinger.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.