VATICAN CITY
CBS SF Bay Area
VATICAN CITY (CBS / AP) — The Washington Post has called Cardinal William Levada of San Francisco one of the most influential people involved in the selection of the next pope. And for his part, Levada has not minced words in the days leading up to Tuesday’s conclave to replace Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
He said the church needs to choose a younger cardinal to counter the years of a stiff Benedict who lacked the charm of predecessor Pope John Paul.
Levada is among several cardinals who have spoken candidly with the media while in Rome preparing for the conclave, to the point that the Vatican issued a news blackout late last week.
Levada retired in 2012 after spending six years as the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican’s orthodoxy watchdog, which also defrocked pedophile priests. He was archbishop in San Francisco prior to accepting the Vatican post.
He also played a key role in several church sex-abuse reforms while serving as an archbishop – and has drawn a sharp divide between gay men and pedophile priests.
“By nature homosexuality is a not a predatory activity, it is a sexual activity that the Catholic church does not condone,” he said. By contrast, he explained, pedophile priests are violating the sanctity and purity of young people.
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