Vatican City - Cardinal William Levada, the first U.S. head of the Vatican's doctrinal watchdog office, said his office is researching new developments in bioethics as they consider updating the landmark 1987 instruction "Donum Vitae" or "Gift of Life."
Levada made the comments in a wide-ranging interview this month with Catholic News Service.
Levada's office, called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, also oversees disciplinary reviews for the entire Roman Catholic Church of priests accused of sexually abusing children. While many cases are pending, the number of new claims is dwindling, he said.
"I think you could say the crisis dimensions (of the case load), caused by the situation in the United States, are behind us," Levada told CNS.
On March 14, the congregation condemned as "erroneous or dangerous" some of the writings of a well-known champion of liberation theology, the Rev. Jon Sobrino, a Spanish Jesuit. No immediate disciplinary action was taken.
The study of Sobrino's works began long before Levada, former archbishop of San Francisco, California, took the top job at the congregation two years ago. Still, Levada supported the decision to issue a public statement about the priest's work.
"New generations of theologians and young believers need to have an accurate understanding of what the faith is," the cardinal said. "And here is a well-known, prominent Catholic theologian who does not give an accurate understanding of the faith, and we think someone has to correct it."