More on the new pope and his policies from Kim Lawton.
KIM LAWTON: Benedict's appointment makes Archbishop Levada the highest-ranking American at the Vatican -- and the first American ever to head the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The 68-year-old archbishop is a conservative who helped draft the most recent edition of the Catechism -- the handbook on Catholic doctrine. Earlier in the week, Pope Benedict renewed his pledge to fight any attempts to water down Church teachings. He said the pope's duty is to ensure that the word of God is "not shattered by constant changes in fashion." But across the Catholic world, there was widespread concern that in an attempt to preserve Church teaching, the Vatican may be cracking down on all open debate. Sources say Father Thomas Reese, editor of the Jesuit magazine AMERICA, was forced to resign last week under Vatican pressure. He was a frequent guest on this program, and a widely quoted expert on Church issues.Joining us now is journalist David Gibson, author of the book, THE COMING CATHOLIC CHURCH.
Dave, Father Reese and AMERICA magazine aren't commenting on the specifics of his resignation. What are you hearing? What was the Vatican apparently concerned about?
DAVID GIBSON (Author, THE COMING CATHOLIC CHURCH): Well, I think it was really concerned about the question of debate within the Church -- not so much the orthodoxy of AMERICA magazine, which a lot of people are trying to parse. I mean, yes, AMERICA magazine had a lot of articles about homosexuality in the priesthood, about the "wafer watch" during the political campaign -- whether pro-choice politicians could take Communion, for example. But he really represented both sides of those issues. So I think there was real concern about simply whether they would allow, or they wanted to have, a forum outside the Vatican that would express different opinions or styles of opinions on both sides of an issue.
Mr. GIBSON: Yeah, I think it really does. I think this Pope Benedict -- certainly as Cardinal Ratzinger, he was very concerned at the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith to draw lines, to draw boundaries, to know when you were inside and when you were outside -- when you had crossed the border. So I think this really signals that the Vatican wants the Church to speak with one voice that is the pope's and coming out of the Vatican. It's really, I think, a question more about who is going to control the debate and really whether there will be any public debate on issues within the Catholic community.
Mr. GIBSON: Well, I think to a degree, Archbishop Levada becoming now the most powerful American ever at the Vatican -- I mean, heading the CDF, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith -- is a tremendous job. And it again is another signal as to how important in this engagement, or battle, if you will, with the modern world, how important the Vatican sees the U.S. Church. And I think Archbishop Levada really can help direct the Vatican, you know, on which fights to pick. You know, he knows the ground here in the United States. He knows what issues are important, what issues are not, and who might be in need of disciplining and who might not be in need of disciplining.
