Vatican City, Nov 28, 2023 / 13:34 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis has stripped one of his top American critics, Cardinal Raymond Burke, of his Vatican housing and salary privileges, the Associated Press is reporting.
According to the AP report, which is based on conversations with two anonymous sources briefed on the measures, the pope discussed his planned actions against the American prelate at a Nov. 20 meeting of Vatican office heads.
The pope reportedly said that Burke was a source of “disunity” in the Church and that he was using the privileges afforded to retired cardinals against the Church.
The Italian Catholic news blog La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana first reported pending actions against Burke on Nov. 27.
“Cardinal Burke is my enemy, so I take away his apartment and his salary,” the pope had said at the Nov. 20 meeting, according to Bussola’s undisclosed Vatican source.
CNA was unable to immediately reach Burke to confirm the measures against him. The Vatican’s communications office did not respond to EWTN’s request for comment by time of publication.
The AP reported that the Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, “referred questions to Burke.”
“I don’t have anything particular to say about that,” Bruni told reporters.
Burke was ordained a priest by Pope Paul VI in Rome in 1975 and was bishop of La Crosse, Wisconsin, from 1995 to 2004 and archbishop of St. Louis from 2004 to 2008. Widely regarded as an expert in canon law, Burke was appointed in 2008 as prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura (the highest judicial authority in the Church) by Pope Benedict XVI. Two years later, Benedict made him a cardinal.
Pope Francis removed him from the post of prefect in 2014 and instead appointed him cardinal patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, a mostly ceremonial role dedicated to the spiritual welfare of the members of the order. He remained patron until this year but had held only the title, having been reportedly restricted from active involvement since 2016 and thus sidelined during the extensive institutional reforms of the order over the last years. In June, Pope Francis named Cardinal Gianfranco Ghirlanda, SJ, as Burke’s official replacement. At the time of the announcement, Burke was only a few days away from the customary retirement age for bishops of 75.
Burke has emerged as a strong critic of some of Pope Francis’ initiatives.
He was one of the five cardinals who sent “dubia” to Pope Francis asking for clarification on the Church’s position on doctrinal development, the blessing of same-sex unions, the authority of the Synod on Synodality, women’s ordination, and sacramental absolution.
The document was made public on the eve of the opening of the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican and discussed at an Oct. 2 press conference in which Burke took part and expressed his concerns about the synod.
“It is unfortunately very clear that the invocation of the Holy Spirit by some has for its purpose the advancement of an agenda that is more political and human than ecclesial and divine,” Burke said.
This would not be the first former curial official this year asked to leave his Vatican living quarters.
According to a German newspaper report in June, Pope Francis ordered Archbishop Georg Gänswein to leave the Vatican and return to Germany. Gänswein, a longtime secretary to Pope Benedict XVI, served as prefect of the Papal Household to both Benedict and his successor, Pope Francis, until February 2020. Gänswein’s departure from the Vatican following the death of Benedict and subsequent dismissal by Pope Francis was seen by some as a fall from grace.
According to the German media report, Pope Francis in his comments on the decision “referred to the custom that the former private secretaries of deceased popes did not remain in Rome.”
Like Burke, Gänswein, 66, is without portfolio.
This is a developing story.
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Exiles en route to paradise. My favorable opinion of two men who served Christ and Church faithfully. Cardinal Burke, candid, faithful to the Church, the Chair of Peter too candid for His Holiness. Archbishop Gänswein, caught in the middle of Benedict’s controversial co authorship to Cardinal Sarah’s recalcitrant book From the Depths of Our Hearts: Priesthood, Celibacy and the Crisis of the Catholic Church – a sure source of irritation to Pope Francis sealed his eviction notice.
So they’re off to relatively greener, more welcoming pastures. Nevertheless, they remain needed voices in witness to the truth. As Card Burke continues to speak, hopefully so will Archbishop Gänswein.
Hopefully everyone. Something needs to puncture the stubborn pride of Francis. Just last night I tuned to a Catholic channel and watched the midpoint of what appeared to be the Angeles address read by an aide, with Francis sitting beside him, televised to the ever decreasing assemblies at St. Peters. Near the last paragraph Fracis, energetic and agitated, prodded his aide to allow him to now read what was apparently a big laugh and applause line at the finish for the crowd. His ego is always on the line, and this is the real theme of his pontificate, not the service of Our Lord and certainly not the Deposit of Faith. Whatever it takes to make him seem like the greatest pope in history no matter how many reversals in the process are necessary to keep the flames of attention focused on him.
An exceedingly thin-skinned Pope. Its fortunate that the Pope cannot stamp his feet at regular parishioners and make them go away as he does the Cardinal. My guess will be more than a few Catholics have left the church already and more will go, taking their money with them.The Cardinal will head to a more welcoming place, I am sure. Its no secret the Pope dislikes Americans. Except of course those who are breaking church law. What he may NOT know is that Americans have never cared WHO likes us around the world, and that includes the Pope. We have not cared for over 200 years. Shaking in our boots is just not an American “thing”.
And many more are happy and very content in The Church. And as you say and think, people around the world do not care for Americans…but, maybe it is time you do.
Some do not care a whit what men think about us. We do care what God thinks. Which do you think is more important?
Many are happy and content? In what fantasy? Everyone I see at church looks to be over 60 years old, and nobody lives forever. Our church seats 700, and USED to be filled. Now we are lucky to get 120 people at Sunday Mass. What happens when those faithful folks dies? The younger people have defected. Sexually abusive incidents and a Pope who dabbles in radical changes to Catholic theology by making coy remarks ( like, who am I to judge?) absolutely does NOT help build up the church. Neither does attacking those who favor the Latin Mass ( I am not one of them by the way)where attendance is booming.But he sees fit to suppress that. Brilliant.
AS for caring what the rest of the world thinks of us, dont hold your breath honey. We know the rest of the planet are hypocritical enough to want our tourist dollars and our soldiers when needed.But otherwise they have no desire to understand the country or it’s culture. Nor do many of them have enough respect to immigrate here legally, as recent years have shown loud and clear. They too, come for a free hand-out. They are users. So why, exactly, are we supposed to care what ANY of them think?? Newsflash: we don’t. Americans are known to be pragmatic. That holds in this situation as well. I notice that people will risk DEATH to come here, while leaving behind these so-called great countries elsewhere where we are hated. Maybe you should open your eyes a little more to reality.
LJ,
Catholicism is in fact doing well in the Global South even in the face of terrible persecution.
Church memberships are falling in the West for almost every denomination, excepting the Anabaptists. There are pockets of devout Catholics in the US and we’re blessed to live in one of those regions.
Our overall population is ageing so I suppose we should expect to see many more folks over 60 at Mass.Latin Masses may differ.
How much more petty can this Pope get? I would think he fears death and his particular judgment but I guess he believes his vision of the church as an NGO is the way to go.
This Pope is a bully – a street thug sporting a pectoral cross. Christ told us that how you treat others will determine the standard by which He’ll judge you.
Perhaps indeed, the First shall be last.
I am reminded of the statement by that great American, David Horowitz:
“Inside every progressive is a totalitarian screaming to get out.”
It’s certainly true of Bergoglio, one of the less Christlike figures ever to occupy the papacy.
Yes, threatening & so closed to dialogue. So reproachful.
Great point./….I coincide with you 100%
Cardinal Burke is a humble man and a wonderful shepherd. It takes a petty, spiteful, little man to make a public pronouncement of this sort about another prelate and then to follow through with this action. It underscores the division Bergoglio has willfully created within the Church. Really pathetic. His action was very likely a violation of Canon 196 and related canons and Fr.Gerald Murray provided an excellent analysis of this. Of course, thugs don’t care about the rules. This action makes it appear Traditionis custodes was likely nothing more than a revenge shot against Cardinal Burke, et. al. Leo XIII: “Most cunning enemies have filled with bitterness and drenched with gall the Church, the Spouse of the Lamb without spot, and have lifted impious hands against all that is most sacred in it. Even in the holy place where the See of Blessed Peter and the chair of truth was set up to enlighten the world, they have raised the abominable throne of their impiety…”
Hey Randy! I got that about Francis being “spiteful,” but “little” confused me a bit. Then I realized you were talking about his character and his ‘virtue.’ In factual, manifest, visible reality, the man is morbidly obese. IOW, Big. I have read that he likes pasta.
excellent commentary!!
Nothing will suppress the Tridentine Mass; the love its adherents have for it is so strong, that it will be celebrated in rented halls, people’s homes and elsewhere if totally outlawed by Pope Francis. I can’t imagine a Novus Ordo equivalent to Archbishop Lefevbre if the new rite were suppressed.
“The Successor of Peter is the rock which guarantees a rigorous fidelity to the Word of God against arbitrariness and conformism.”
This is the clear teaching declared by the then-CDF headed by then-Cardinal Ratzinger in 1998.
“I can only express my respect for him and my gratitude for his courageous witness to the faith.”
This is the confession of support by Cardinal Burke in the drama intended to smear Pope Francis now revealed to have been staged and financed by Taylor Marshall in the stealing of that indigenous statue from a Roman church and its throwing into the Tiber river.
This is Cardinal Burke who presents himself and enabled by the hard rightist Catholic media like the anti-Pope Francis EWTN media empire (of which CNA is a part of) as the voice of orthodoxy in contrast to a heterodox pope.
Compare and contrast the CDF teaching and Cardinal Burke’s position.
It is just and proper that he be stripped of his Vatican housing and salary. He should instead be paid by the likes of EWTN, or perhaps by CWR.
Gosh, those two cherry-picked quotes taken entirely out of context sure changes my mind! And Taylor Marshall is such a bogeyman, isn’t he? Thank you so much, “Deacon Dom”!
“..financed by Taylor Marshall in the stealing of that indigenous statue from a Roman church and its throwing into the Tiber river.”
I think I would have contributed a few dollars towards pitching that idol in the Tiber if I’d been asked to.
🙂
I’d like to have been the one to not only have thrown the pachamama into the drink but some inhabitants living near where they threw it into the Tiber with it.
That tree in the back garden of the Vatican in the name of pochamma also needs to be thrown in the Tiber. My concern is the silence coming from fellow cardinals , bishops and clergy.
Deacon Dom, all due respect, but your pinball machine got all its circuits crossed and is going wowzers cancelling its points! Some new kind of binary!
Indigenous statue … smear campaign … should be paid … by EWTN … arbitrariness … conformism … guarantee … heterodox Pope … DNA drama!
Take your pick here.
THE WHO!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHc7bR6y06M
LONNIE IRVING
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAD_0Cd7MS0
Clever, Elias. I like it!
Yours sounds like a “hard leftist Catholic” screed. It’s tough when the Pope needs apologists to help get this papacy out of the gutter.
In reply to Dom:
Unfortunately for the Church, in light of the history of an ample number of previously recognized bad pontiffs, being “the successor of Peter” doesn’t necessarily mean much.
No one likes cherry-pickers, Dom. Nevertheless, I’ll take my cue from you, teacher that you pretend to be: Here’s a cherry I picked just for your edification. “The term DOM is slang that refers to an older man who engages in inappropriate behavior, particularly towards younger women. It is commonly used in the workplace to describe a man who makes unwelcome advances towards younger female colleagues. The term carries a negative connotation and is not something one would want to be associated with.” (FluentSlang.com)
Having said that, here is the fuller context and more complete textual tree from which you chose your cherries:
“The Roman Pontiff – like all the faithful – is subject to the Word of God, to the Catholic faith, and is the guarantor of the Church’s obedience; in this sense he is servus servorum Dei. He does not make arbitrary decisions, but is spokesman for the will of the Lord, who speaks to man in the Scriptures lived and interpreted by Tradition; in other words, the episkope of the primacy has limits set by divine law and by the Church’s divine, inviolable constitution found in Revelation.”
Have you swallowed that yet? There is more:
“The Successor of Peter is the rock which guarantees a rigorous fidelity to the Word of God against arbitrariness and conformism: hence the martyrological nature of his primacy.” (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, The Primacy of the Successor of Peter in the Mystery of the Church, October 31, 1998, n. 7).
Spot on!!!
So how do you reconcile the indisputable rigorous hatred of many tenents of the Catholic faith and those who give it faithful witness by Francis with his responsibility to not hate the Catholic faith and those who give it faithful witness?
Jesus had “enemies” too but he loved them; he did not condemn them
Amen….. it is just so sad that we don’t have a wonderful Pope like St. John Paul!!!!!My daily prayers for the wonderful Cardinal Raymond Burke.
The Pontiff Francis act is vindictive and contemptuous, revealing himself, once again, as having no spiritual or moral authority, having reduced himself to nothing but a petty tyrant.
The contemptuous acts of the Pontiff Francis against abuse victims, faithful laity, priests, bishops and Cardinals, is no surprise whatsoever, as the same Pontiff Francis signaled his contempt for anyone who opposes him, and his contempt for any authority except himself, when he orchestrated the Pachamama idolatry event.
The Pontiff Francis has shown that he is disoriented from Christ the Head of the Church, and disoriented from the Holy Spirit.
Holy Mary Mother of God, St. John the Baptist, St. Michael the Archangel, and all saints and martyrs: Pray for us, for the Church.
As to what Chris writes above, ditto for me.
Amen to that! Is there any chance our next Pope could be more in line with the God’s Word and the Catholic Church? Or is the fix in to have a like successor?
Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Mary and Joe was born in a stable with shepherds, and companion species for company. Guys out there need to ponder, meditate, reflect, and contemplate the life and times of Jesus the Savior.
+Burke won’t lack for money and lodgings given his popularity. There will likely be a helpful backlash against Bergoglio and his malcontents that will last through the next conclave. So consider this petty, mean-spirited move a likely productive blessing.
I am a senior citizen who attended Catholic schools in the 1950s. We were always taught the importance of charity, love of neighbor, seeing Christ in people.
From what I see, this pope isn’t interested in any of these things – witness, Bishop Strickland, Archbishop Ganswein, those who worship at the Latin Mass. And now we have Cardinal Burke.
How can people who have said so many Masses and prayers act this way? Hardly a great testimony for evangelization. Who would be inspired to join a church like this?
You certainly speak for me as well Francy. Well said.
Frankly, the Pontiff Francis is an utterly appalling priest, bishop and pontiff.
Last week a priest reminded his congregation that Judas was a disciple. God has his reasons for allowing evil to prowl about the world, seeking the ruin of souls. We faithful should take note, take courage, and take The Word for ours.
It is not Cardinal Burke who undermines the Chair of St. Peter, but its current occupant.
When I see Francis, and the dwindling crowds at the Vatican, I also see the closing scene from The Godfather III, with an elderly Michael Corleone, sitting by himself, alone, having vanquished his enemies, yet with no true friends by his side. He knows no loyalty or honor, only resentment and unquenchable urge for control. He is, in the final analysis, an object of pity.
The reality is that the Pope’s broadcasts affirm people in their bad ways and their determination to stand by error; and then, now, in the name of the Pope. This is happening with people who have no care for sideline issues like Pachamama but make it useful reference for their schemes.
False corroboration is a witness in the sense that it proves that wrong can only ever be wrong. Indigenous people and the like who have had true conversion would have keen insights on this in faith and in common sense. The Pachamama affair in Rome would be the more acute for them.
Pachamama is a deity/false god. It is not a child’s doll you take for a blessing at Christmas. Would you bless an effigy of the Greek’s pan or the Chinese pangu? Of course not.
In Trinidad and Tobago they have fused the Hindu goddess kali into the celebration of La Divina Pastora and they freely use the Hindu designation for the resulting persona, “suparee mai”. Catholic priests proclaim with complete assurance it “simply” means “she is mother”. Well you should research what kind of mother kali represents to know the absurdity of it! More than 100 years already and counting.
In addition, what “suparee mai” actually translates to, from Hindi, by active sense, is, as any honest Hindu will admit, “kali’s true devotee”. At the celebration on the parish grounds Hindu men were performing the kali rituals and placing their “offerings” to the statue. Called local tradition.