A U.S. cardinal and former enforcer of doctrine for the Vatican was arrested late Thursday for drunken driving, according to the Hawaii Tribune-Herald.
Cardinal William Joseph Levada, 79, was stopped around midnight on Hawaii's Hina Lani St. after officers spotted his car swerving about on the highway. He was charged with a DUI then released about an hour later after posting the $500 bail.
"I regret my error in judgment," said Levada. "I intend to continue fully cooperating with the authorities."
Archdiocesan spokesman Michael Brown said that the cardinal was on vacation with friends at the time of the arrest.
Levada is required to appear in court on Sept. 24.
A police spokesperson said that he was alone in his car but they would not release his blood alcohol levels at the time of his arrest, however, a 0.08 blood alcohol level is the threshold for legal intoxication while driving in Hawaii, according to the Washington Post.
Catholic cardinals are traditionally viewed as "princes of the church," according to Catholic Pages, and are second to the pope in terms of church hierarchy.
Levada was archbishop of Portland from 1986 to 1995, before spending a decade as archbishop of San Francisco. In 2005, Pope Benedict XVI named him prefect of the congregation for the doctrine of the faith - a high ranking Vatican role charged with protecting the church's faith and morals. Levada continued in that role until 2012, according to The Oregonian.
Levada is one of only 219 cardinals worldwide and was part of the 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis in 2013, according to the Huffington Post.
