Reports Say Pope Is Close to Naming American to Top Vatican Post

c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Media reports indicate Pope Benedict XVI is moving closer to naming an American, Archbishop William Levada of San Francisco, to his old job as chief enforcer and guardian of Catholic faith and doctrine. As first reported by Religion News Service on May 3, Levada appears to be the top […]

c. 2005 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) Media reports indicate Pope Benedict XVI is moving closer to naming an American, Archbishop William Levada of San Francisco, to his old job as chief enforcer and guardian of Catholic faith and doctrine.

As first reported by Religion News Service on May 3, Levada appears to be the top contender to succeed Benedict _ the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger _ as prefect for the powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.


If appointed, Levada would be the highest-ranking American ever at the Vatican.

Time magazine reported Tuesday (May 10) that Levada’s appointment is a “done deal” and the offer came straight from the pope. The two are described as having a “hidden friendship” dating from the early 1980s.

“Levada was already asked, and has accepted,” a senior Vatican official told Time. “If it ends up not happening, it means somebody got to (the pope) and convinced him to change his mind.”

A leading American cardinal and several people who know Levada in San Francisco and his former archdiocese of Portland, Ore., have confirmed for Religion News Service that Levada is a strong contender for the job.

On May 3, Levada became the first American prelate to have a private audience with the new pope. Levada, 68, worked at the congregation from 1976 to 1982, and Ratzinger was its top official from 1981 until he was elected pope April 19.

In addition, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednesday that an appointment seems imminent. “He will be the first American cardinal named by the pope,” Vatican analyst Rocco Palmo told the newspaper.

Levada’s office in San Francisco has declined to comment publicly on any possible appointment, but has described initial reports as “accurate.”

The congregation is responsible for policing and enforcing Catholic orthodoxy. It also holds jurisdiction over all cases of abusive priests and has key influence on the church’s relationship with other faiths.


Levada was appointed archbishop of San Francisco in 1995 and previously served in Portland from 1986 to 1995. In both posts, he confronted many of the social issues roiling the U.S. church, including euthanasia, homosexuality and Catholic politicians who support abortion rights.

Levada is widely considered a doctrinal conservative but has also shown a pragmatic streak. For example, he brokered a deal with San Francisco city officials that continued public funding to church ministries by allowing employees to enroll a person outside his or her immediate family in health plans.

The policy met the city’s requirement of providing coverage for domestic partners but it did so without giving official church recognition to couples, both gay and straight, living together out of wedlock.

MO/PH END ECKSTROM

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