Salt + Light Media Menu
Salt + Light Media Home
Magnifying Glass
coverPhoto
Premium content

Asset title

Asset description

Cardinal Levada to NY Times: Reconsider 'attack mode' against Pope Benedict

Matthew Harrison

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

The official newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, the Catholic San Francisco, has published a letter by Cardinal William J. Levada responding to New York Times' articles on clergy sexual abuse and Pope Benedict XVI.  The Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith defends the Holy Father and chastises the paper for being inaccurate and unfair.  He offers insight into the Milwaukee and Munich cases, internal Church governance, and shares his experience of dealing with abuse cases.  Clearly written and succinct, it's worth taking the time to read this article.  See the letter below, and also check out THIS blog entry for Salt + Light Television's recent Witness interview with Cardinal Levada.
Cardinal William LevadaThe New York Times and Pope Benedict XVI: how it looks to an American in the Vatican
By Cardinal William J. Levada
Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
In our melting pot of peoples, languages and backgrounds, Americans are not noted as examples of “high” culture. But we can take pride as a rule in our passion for fairness. In the Vatican where I currently work, my colleagues – whether fellow cardinals at meetings or officials in my office – come from many different countries, continents and cultures. As I write this response today (March 26, 2010) I have had to admit to them that I am not proud of America’s newspaper of record, the New York Times, as a paragon of fairness.
I say this because today’s Times presents both a lengthy article by Laurie Goodstein, a senior columnist, headlined “Warned About Abuse, Vatican Failed to Defrock Priest,” and an accompanying editorial entitled “The Pope and the Pedophilia Scandal,” in which the editors call the Goodstein article a disturbing report (emphasis in original) as a basis for their own charges against the Pope. Both the article and the editorial are deficient by any reasonable standards of fairness that Americans have every right and expectation to find in their major media reporting.
Continue Reading
Photo: CNS photo/Art Babych


Related Articles:

Category: Advent and Christmas, Reflections

Tag: COVID-19, gift giving, Love Digest

Pope Francis’ Catechesis – February 19, 2025

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Pope Francis

Pope Francis continued his cycle of catechesis on "Jesus Christ our Hope," as part of the Jubilee 2025. This week he reflected on the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus, writing that the Magi "are men who do not stay still but, like the great chosen ones of biblical history, feel the need to move, to go forth. They are men who are able to look beyond themselves, who know how to look upwards."

Pope’s General Audience – February 12, 2025

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Pope Francis

In his Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis continued this cycle of catechesis on "Jesus Christ our Hope," as part of the Jubilee 2025. This week he reflected on the birth of Christ and the visit of the shepherds, saying that "God, who comes into history, does not dismantle the structures of the world, but wants to illuminate them and recreate them from within."

Pope Francis’ homily for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God 2025

Wednesday, January 1, 2025

Pope Francis

On January 1, 2025, Pope Francis gave the homily at Mass on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God in St. Peter's Basilica.

Pope Francis’ Urbi et Orbi message for Christmas 2024

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Pope Francis

Pope Francis gave the traditional Christmas message and blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city and to the world) from the central loggia of St. Peter's

Pope Francis’ homily for Midnight Mass 2024

Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Pope Francis

Pope Francis gave the homily at Midnight Mass, saying that "Hope is not dead; hope is alive and it embraces our lives forever. Hope does not disappoint!"

SUPPORT LABEL

Receive our newsletters
Stay Connected
Receive our newsletters
Stay Connected
Copyright © 2025 Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation
Registered Charity # 88523 6000 RR0001
FR | CH