VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter
by John L Allen Jr on Jul. 02, 2012 NCR Today
In a widely expected yet still critically important move, Pope Benedict XVI has tapped Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller of Regensburg, Germany, to succeed American Cardinal William Levada as Prefect of the powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Among other things, the appointment means that Müller, 64, will be the key Vatican player in the overhaul of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious demanded by the doctrinal congregation in April.
Some observers believe the fact that the exchange with LCWR will now be led by a non-American may affect the intensity of the congregation’s interest, if not the substance of its positions.
Levada, who turned 76 in June, had led the congregation since May 2005.
The pope’s new doctrinal czar has a profile in Germany as a staunch defender of Catholic orthodoxy, yet not an ideologue. Among other things, Müller has a strong friendship with Peruvian liberation theologian Gustavo Guttierez.
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