.- On
Friday, Archbishop William Joseph Levada will be the first of 15 men
from around the globe to be made Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI.
Levada’s role is unique however. Earlier this year, he took over the
Holy Father’s former job as Prefect for the Congregation of the
Doctrine of the Faith--a job charged with upholding the teachings of
the Church.
Recently, the
Cardinal-designate granted an interview to Time Magazine, in which he
talked about the responsibilities of Catholic politicians and the
ramifications of the Church’s recent document on homosexuals in
seminaries.
During the 2004
U.S. presidential election, the issue of Catholic politicians promoting
and publicly holding views contrary to the Catholic Church became a
volatile one.
Asked whether
“politicians should be granted communion if they support policies
counter to Church teachings,” Archbishop Levada said that “There are
certain teachings that as Catholics we have to accept as part of Jesus'
Gospel. When you see Catholic politicians who favor abortion rights ...
you have to ask yourself how this person squares this with his personal
faith.”
“Catholic
politicians”, he stressed, “need to take this seriously. Maybe they
need to say I'm not able to practice my faith and be a public
representative.”
Likewise, the
Cardinal-designate hit on the Church’s recent document on homosexuals
in seminaries calling the controversial teaching tool “very clear.”
“It says a
person with deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not suited for the
priesthood,” he pointed out. “Somebody who comes to the seminary from a
gay lifestyle cannot be a priest.”
“But”, he also
offered, “if you can show us after five or 10 years that you have been
able to live a celibate life, it could be possible. But there would
need to be spiritual and psychological evaluations.”
Time’s Jeff
Israely closed his interview with the prelate by asking if the Pope had
“any advice on how to handle such a responsibility” when he “welcomed
you to the new job.”
With a laugh, Archbishop Levada said no. Benedict "just smiled, and said: ‘Go to it.’”
