BishopAccountability.org
	Levada Says Farewell at Mass Archbishop Leaving S.F. for Influential Vatican Post By Julian Guthrie San Francisco Chronicle [San Francisco CA] August 8, 2005 Thousands of the faithful filled St. Mary's Cathedral on Sunday to hear the last Mass offered in San Francisco by Archbishop William Levada before he becomes the highest-ranking American in Vatican history. Levada, a fourth-generation Californian appointed to the San Francisco post 10 years ago in October, plans to resign Aug. 17. He will be in charge of resolving questions around faith and morals for the world's 1.1 billion Catholics. Levada's farewell celebration at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption was marked by the adoration of hundreds who waited in long lines for a brief individual blessing from Levada. In his homily, Levada spoke lovingly about San Francisco, from its poorest residents to those with the most. The occasion was tempered by a silent vigil for those who have been abused by priests. Dozens of protesters, standing in a long line in front of the church on Geary Boulevard, wore T-shirts that read, "It's a Sin. Stop the Coverup." As the new prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Levada succeeds German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who held the post for 24 years before he became Pope Benedict XVI in April. When the conservative Levada arrived in San Francisco from a nine-year stint as archbishop of the Portland, Ore., diocese, he inherited a community riven by church closures and allegations of clergy abuse. Asked to preside over the most liberal diocese in the nation, which now serves more than 425,000 Roman Catholics in San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo counties, Levada has navigated hot-button issues of gay rights and the role of women in the church. On Sunday, he thanked the people of San Francisco for preparing him for his position in Rome. "My heart goes out in gratitude to you today," he said. His final sermon was attended by nearly 3,000 people, including his predecessor as leader of San Francisco's flock, Archbishop John Quinn. Levada said his time here has been deeply significant to him "as a man, a priest, an archbishop." Standing at the altar, under an ethereal silver baldachin -- a cascade of metal slivers made to symbolize the canopy of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome -- Levada asked: "How should I measure my time here? By counting up accomplishments? By the number of people I helped in the diocese to know the Lord better? Only God knows the answer to that." Throughout his sermon, he returned to a passage in Scripture that was a favorite of the late Pope John Paul II. The words appeared to be directed as much inward as to the gathered flock. "How grateful I am to be able to pray and celebrate this Eucharist with you and to hear the words (of Jesus) that I need to hear: 'Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid.' " He recalled being welcomed to become San Francisco's seventh archbishop, also with a ceremony at St. Mary's. At the time, he delivered a homily that characterized the Transamerica Pyramid as "an icon of cultural and political successes," in contrast to the St. Anthony Dining Room in the Tenderloin -- a place where, he said, "people wait for food, for prayer, for clothing." Looking to the large windows behind him Sunday, with views of a fogged-in San Francisco, Levada again highlighted the city's disparities. "From these windows you see successes and failure," Levada said. "You see good and evil. You see beauty and ugliness." He called on the gathered to "go out into the city of man and speak of the love of God." At the end of the service, Levada made his way down the aisle to applause and outstretched hands. He smiled and offered blessings as he walked, carrying a gold staff. Mary Herman, a lifelong Catholic and St. Mary's parishioner, smiled and said, "He's been a good archbishop. An archbishop has so many responsibilities. He came to San Francisco at a difficult time. He handled things quickly and properly." Levada spent several hours after the service meeting with parishioners. "Archbishop Levada has a love of God and people," said Mike Quinn, in his second year at St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park. "One positive example is, despite all of the bad publicity, we have seven people studying in our seminary to become priests in San Francisco." Luzviminda and Eddie DeLeon, parishioners from Daly City, waited in the long line to be blessed by Levada after Mass. "I have a feeling he will be our next pope," Luzviminda DeLeon said, almost giddy. "He is really very holy. I bent and kissed his ring. I said, 'You will be the next pope.' " Outside, the protesters offered a reminder of the pain of clergy abuse. The silent vigil, said Dan McNevin, a spokesperson for the East Bay chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), represented "the silence of the church over time not to deal with the sex abuse scandal here and nationwide." Mary Grant, a member of SNAP in Los Angeles, drove to San Francisco with her daughter to protest the Mass. "Sadly, I wish I could point to one diocese anywhere in the country and say they are doing the right thing," she said. "We have a few bishops who have done the right thing. But there is no diocese that we look to where victims feel there has been full transparency, full disclosure." Later in the day, the archdiocese announced that San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop John Wester will serve as interim administrator. The process of selecting a new archbishop for San Francisco could take up to six months, spokesman Maurice Healy said.