PORTLAND (OR)
KGW
08/01/2005
By JOSEPH B. FRAZIER / Associated Press
A federal bankruptcy judge has agreed to postpone the deposition of Roman Catholic Archbishop William Levada in the Portland Archdiocese sex abuse bankruptcy case until January.
Levada was the Archbishop of Portland from 1986-1995.
He now heads the Vatican-based Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which enforces Catholic doctrine. It is the post held by former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger before his election as Pope Benedict XVI.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Perris, in an order signed last Friday, agreed to allow Levada to give a deposition in Portland Jan. 12, 2006, rather than this month.
Court papers stipulate that Levada agree to acknowledge the jurisdiction of the court and to waive any diplomatic immunity he may have or acquire because of his elevated status in the Vatican, a sovereign state.