SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
RedNova
By Leonard Anderson
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Archbishop William Levada bid goodbye to San Francisco on Saturday as he heads for Rome, where he will take over the No. 2 post in the Roman Catholic Church, while victims of sexual abuse by priests called for action against clergy facing abuse lawsuits.
Outside the San Francisco hotel where Levada was to be feted by 2,300 guests at a $150-a-plate dinner, a small group of protesters from SNAP, a U.S. sexual abuse victims group, urged Levada to show that he wants to protect children from abuse.
"We have done our best to reach out" to the victims of abuse, Levada said at news conference before the dinner, praising the work of his diocese staff. "I leave San Francisco with a good conscience."