On his first U.S. visit since he was elevated to the College of Cardinals in March and nearly a year since he left San Francisco to serve as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican, Cardinal William J. Levada received a warm welcome as he celebrated Mass at San Francisco's St. Mary's Cathedral July 23.

In May 2005 Pope Benedict XVI chose Cardinal Levada, then archbishop of San Francisco, to serve as prefect of the Vatican's doctrinal office, a post the pope himself had held for more than two decades under Pope John Paul II. Cardinal Levada, a native of Long Beach, is the highest-ranking American serving at the Vatican.

At the July 23 Mass, San Francisco Archbishop George H. Niederauer --- like Cardinal Levada, a Southland native ordained originally for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1962, one year after the cardinal --- welcomed the former archbishop and praised him for being a man who faithfully speaks the truth of church teaching.

In an interview with Catholic San Francisco, newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Cardinal Levada described his first year as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith as "intense."

He said the past year was filled with activities related to his Vatican responsibilities, meetings, and introductions; appointments to additional posts as president of the Pontifical Biblical Commission and as a member of the Congregation for Bishops; and efforts to "get up to speed" quickly.

Cardinal Levada said the experience of working with Pope Benedict, whom he sees regularly, reinforces the general understanding that this pope is extraordinary.

"There has been a wonderful reception to the new pope's teaching and homilies," Cardinal Levada said. "The pope has a peaceful serenity, which is a gift from God, and a way of setting people at ease."

As head of the doctrinal congregation, Cardinal Levada is concerned with issues throughout the global Catholic Church. He said issues are different in various regions of the world.

"However, there is no lack of challenges," he said, whether the region is one where the church is young and growing, or a region where the presence of the church is well-established.

Cardinal Levada stressed the theme of unity in the church. "People must understand that polarization is a political construct that is antithetical to the church," he said. "If we love Christ, we must love his church."

---CNS