Italian newspaper says former San Francisco archbishop wants this year to be his last as guardian of Catholic orthodoxy.
Pope Benedict XVI will need to find a new prefect for the Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith – “the most delicate department head of the Roman Curia” – early next year, the Italian daily La Stampa reports.
The newspaper is known for its “Vatican Insider” project, staffed by experienced journalists well connected to sources inside the Holy See. In its Aug. 25 edition, La Stampa’s “Vatican Insider” reported that Cardinal Joseph Levada, who turned 75 on June 15, has made it known “he does not wish to remain in the position beyond the end of 2011.”
I checked a translated version of “Vatican Insider” at La Stampa and could not find the article on the possible retirement of Cardinal Levada, but that does not mean it isn't there. Well, we'll see. If, indeed, the cardinal will retire, who will be his replacement?
Under the previous pope, John Paul II, the position of prefect of the CDF was held by the present pope as Cardinal Ratzinger.
Quotes from Cardinal Levada:
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, infallible magisterium and which are presented to the public in such a way as to constitute equivalently an alternative personal magisterium.Thanks to Ann V. for the link.
....
On Protestant ecclesial communities: "According to Catholic doctrine, these Communities do not enjoy apostolic succession in the sacrament of Orders, and are, therefore, deprived of a constitutive element of the Church. These ecclesial Communities which, specifically because of the absence of the sacramental priesthood, have not preserved the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic Mystery cannot, according to Catholic doctrine, be called 'Churches' in the proper sense"
UPDATE: Thanks to Paul the BB, here's the link to the article in La Stampa.
