Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1981–2005)
On
November 25,
1981, Pope John Paul II named Ratzinger Prefect of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, formerly known as the
Holy Office, the historical Inquisition. Consequently, he resigned his post at Munich in early 1982. He was promoted within the
College of Cardinals to become Cardinal Bishop of Velletri-Segni in 1993, was made the College's vice-dean in 1998 and dean in 2002.
In office, Ratzinger fulfilled his institutional role, defending and reaffirming Catholic doctrine, including teaching on topics such as
birth control,
homosexuality, and inter-religious dialogue. During his period in office, the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith took disciplinary measures against some outspoken
liberation theologians in
Latin America, condemning liberation theology twice (in 1984 and 1986), accusing it of Marxist tendencies and of inciting hate and violence.
Leonardo Boff, for example, was suspended, while others were reputedly reduced to silence. Other issues also prompted condemnations or revocations of rights to teach: for instance, eleven years after his death, the writings of Jesuit priest
Anthony de Mello were the subject of a "notification" - the notice did not condemn all of De Mello's works as heretical, but noted that many of them, particularly the later works, had what Ratzinger and the CDF interpreted as an element of religious indifferentism (as they saw it, De Mello held that Christ was "one master alongside others"). Some theologians dispute the CDF's interpretations of both liberation theology and the works of thinkers like De Mello.
The CDF is best known for its authority over the teaching of Church doctrine, but it also has jurisdiction over other matters, including cases involving the seal of the confessional, clerical sexual misconduct and other matters, in its function as what amounts to a court. In his capacity as Prefect, Ratzinger also penned a controversial letter to all Catholic bishops, declaring that confidential details of Church investigations into accusations made against priests of certain serious ecclesiastical crimes, including
sexual abuse, were subject to the
pontifical secret and could not, on pain of
excommunication, be revealed.
[12][13]
On
March 12,
1983 Joseph Ratzinger as prefect and cardinal notified the lay faithful and the
clergy that
archbishop Pierre Martin Ngo Dinh Thuc had incurred the
excommunication latae sententiae for
episcopal consecrations without the apostolic mandate
