Catholic Cardinal's Hawaii Getaway Ends In DUI Arrest
Hawaii County
New cardinal William Joseph Levada receives the biretta cap from Pope Benedict XVI in Saint Peter's Square, March 24, 2006 in Vatican City. The Pontiff installed 15 new cardinals during the Consistory ceremony. Franco Origlia via Getty Images
"I regret my error in judgment," the high-ranking Vatican official said
By Chris D'Angelo Posted: 08/24/2015 11:18 PM EDT
One of the Roman Catholic Church's most senior clergymen was arrested last week for driving under the influence during a trip to Hawaii.
Levada, formerly the highest ranking American official in the Vatican [ http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/world/europe/06levada.html ], was charged with driving under the influence and was released from police custody after posting $500 bail.
In a statement emailed to The Huffington Post by a spokesman for the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Levada said, “I regret my error in judgment. I intend to continue fully cooperating with the authorities.”
Levada, the former archbishop of Portland and San Francisco, was reportedly vacationing with other priests on the Big Island when the arrest occurred.
When asked how the archdiocese handles situations like this, spokesman Michael Brown said that in this specific case, "'punishment' is not a factor."
“Speaking generally at all levels of the organization, such things would be looked at on a case-by-case basis," he wrote in an email to HuffPost. "Where a lapse in judgment occurred, the matter would probably be considered less serious. If the matter seemed to indicate a more serious problem, this would be treated more seriously. This would be true at all employee levels."
In 2005, former Pope Benedict XVI named Levada as his successor as Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. One year later, Benedict named him a cardinal.
The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported Levada is scheduled to appear in Kona District Court Sept. 24. A police spokeswoman declined to provide the newspaper with Levada's blood alcohol content.
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