IS THE HONEYMOON OVER?

Pope Francis has backed the Vatican’s doctrinal crackdown on a major group of American nuns, reasserting the Roman Catholic Church's conservative approach to various social issues in a move that could cool the warm reception he has received from some liberal Catholics since taking office last month.
 
The Vatican said in a statement Monday that Francis had reaffirmed the doctrinal evaluation and criticism of U.S. nuns made last year by the Holy See under his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. The assessment accused the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an organization that represents most U.S. female Catholic orders, of promoting "radical feminist themes" and ignoring the Vatican's hard line on same-sex marriage and abortion.

"[R]adical feminist themes"?  It is to laugh.  Perhaps I am what the Vatican would consider a radical feminist today because of the fine example of the nuns who taught me in my Roman Catholic elementary and high schools.  Not that the words were ever mentioned, but the great majority of my teachers set an example for me by their intelligence, kindness, knowledge, and common sense.  That the investigation of the nuns will continue is disappointing, but, on the other hand:

Father James Martin, a prominent Jesuit priest in the United States who led a Twitter drive last year to defend the nuns, said it was too soon to say whether Francis, the church's first Jesuit leader, was shutting the door on dialogue.

"Given the long history of the LCWR investigation, it's not surprising that Pope Francis is asking the Congregation [for the Doctrine of the Faith] to continue its work. It would have been odd for him to halt things at this point, so early in his job," Martin said. "But given that he himself is a member of a religious order, I would imagine that the sisters will get a sympathetic hearing from him."

I hope Martin is correct that the nuns will get a fair hearing, and their harassment will soon be a matter of history.

CARDINAL LEVADA TO RETIRE?

From California Catholic Daily:

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.
....

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"

Thanks to Ann V. for the link.

UPDATE: Thanks to Paul the BB, here's the link to the article in La Stampa.