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Cardinal to retire, so US nuns may outlast their inquisitor

A report that Cardinal Levada is to retire within weeks may raise some wry smiles among the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.
Cardinal to retire, so US nuns may outlast their inquisitor
Published: June 20, 2012 05:26 AM GMT
Updated: June 20, 2012 05:26 AM GMT

The Vatican's controversial campaign to rein in the American nuns has been led by an American, Cardinal William Levada, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, also known as the Holy Office or the Inquisition, in olden times. The job of Grand Inquisitor, as it is sometimes called, is a thankless one -- kind of the bad cop to the pope's good cop. You are in charge of enforcing orthodoxy with all the politesse of a bureaucrat and little of the human touch of a pastor. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger headed the CDF for more than 23 years before he was elected pope, and earned such monikers as God's Rottweiler, the Panzerkardinal, and others. Ratzinger's rightwing fans loved the nicknames, actually, and Ratzinger -- now Benedict XVI -- didn't do much to dissuade such characterizations. But the American nuns may have the last laugh, or at least a momentary chuckle, if it turns out that Cardinal Levada winds up leaving his job before they are kicked out of theirs. Vaticanologist Marco Tosatti of the Italian daily La Stampa reports that by the end of June, Pope Benedict will accept Levada's resignation and will appoint a German bishop, Gerhard Mueller, to replace him. The move would not be a complete surprise: Levada turned 76 last week and has reportedly asked to return to the U.S. Being the "bad cop" of Catholicism is a powerful and influential position, but it can also be a drag. Moreover, as pope, Ratzinger remains the de facto chief theologian at the Vatican. Levada has never had or desired the influence or stature that Ratzinger had under the late John Paul II. Full Story: Levada to retire? Will the nuns outlast their Inquisitor?Source:Religion News Service

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