An American cardinal has been arrested in Kailua-Kona, on the island of Hawaii, for driving under the influence of alcohol.
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William Joseph Levada, 79, of Menlo Park Calif., was arrested and charged for a DUI and released on $500 bail.
In a press release issued by means of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, the 79-year-old Levada stated he regrets his error in judgment and intends to cooperate with authorities. Today, according to the Vatican’s Web site, its role is to “promote and safeguard the doctrine on the faith and morals throughout the Catholic world”.
This image provided by Hawaii County police shows Cardinal William Joseph Levada.
Cardinal Levada, a California native, was Archbishop of Portland, Oregon, and then of San Francisco before he was appointed prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.
Levada was behind the wheel of a 2015 Nissan Altima and was alone when a police officer saw him swerve while going northbound on Queen Kaahumanu Highway at around midnight Thursday, according to the Hawaii paper.
The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported Levada is scheduled to appear in Kona District Court September 24. A 0.08 blood alcohol level is the threshold for legal intoxication while driving in Hawaii.
“When asked how the archdiocese handles situations like this, spokesman Michael Brown said that in this specific case, “‘punishment’ is not a factor”. “Where a lapse in judgment occurred, the matter would probably be considered less serious”.
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He retired as the head of Vatican’s orthodoxy watchdog in 2012 and took on the honorary title Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. “This would be true at all employee levels”.
