Saturday, February 22, 2014

Cardinal Burke Tries to Mitigate Confusion



States the Pope opposes abortion and gay marriage

Cardinal Raymond Burke acknowledged that the pope has said that the church “cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods.” But in his toughly worded column in L’Osservatore Romano, the former archbishop of St. Louis blasted those “whose hearts are hardened against the truth” for trying to twist Francis’s words to their own ends.

Burke, an outspoken conservative who has headed the Vatican’s highest court since 2008, said that Francis strongly backs the church’s teaching on those topics. He said the pope is simply trying to find ways to persuade people to hear the church’s message despite the “galloping de-Christianization in the West.”

Burke added that the “false praise” from those who highlight Francis’s shift in tone and practice actually “mocks” his role as pope. Francis, the cardinal said, trusts God alone and “rejects the acceptance and praise of the world.”

I love and respect Cardinal Burke and it has been personally reassuring to me that Cardinal Burke places his confidence in Pope Francis.

Burke said he was prompted to write his column after a recent visit to the United States in which he became alarmed that so many people wanted to know whether the pope’s statements about not judging gays and his stress on mercy and welcoming everyone augured a change in church doctrine.

Most of us are not the least bit alarmed that Pope Francis is going to change Church teaching.

We are alarmed - and justifiably so - that Pope Francis's talking points 'change' (twist is a better word for it) what is taught in our parishes and schools.

This is not hyperbole.

As Tommy Gumbleton has recently declared, Pope Francis has given priests, nuns and lay people who dissent from Church teaching, the reassurance that he welcomes their misguided convictions, he will not judge them and will not discipline them and consequently, they no longer 'fear' privately and publicly recruiting others into their perversions.

This is already happening.

Much like a teacher who states while he despises porn, who is he to judge those attracted to it, the confusion has opened up floodgates.

Since this has very serious consequences to our children, relatives, friends, neighbors and the culture, the Pope's own personal convictions really don't lend any comfort to the situation.

8 comments:

breathnach said...

A "go along to get along" Church is now desired by a large portion of the bishops. A majority? It wouldn't surprise me. The Pope had absolutely nothing to say in the past few weeks about the frontal assault against the RC Church in the UN report. He remained silent while Belgium included children in their euthanasia law. I read an idiotic defense of Francis that said he remains silent when the extreme secularist media expects him to speak against a new pagan outrage. In this way he disarms them and he raises questions about the barbarism engulfing the West in his unheard morning homilies. Wow, if only St. Paul had used this passive strategy the West could have spared itself the all the hassle brought by Christianity. Ridiculous.

Left-footer said...

I agree 100% with breathnach.

Anonymous said...

"He remained silent while Belgium included children in their euthanasia law."

Frankly, that shows you where his heart is. It's one thing for a private citizen with no influence to remain silent. But a Pope? Seriously? SERIOUSLY???

For that matter, I don't know of any European bishops who spoke out against that law.

JB said...


Have to love Cardinal Burke's dry style. That comment, "pope opposes abortion," seemed almost wry to me, like he was trying to elicit a chuckle. Well done.

Restore-DC-Catholicism said...

With all due respect to His Eminence, his attempt was a miserable flop that may actually wind up backfiring. http://restore-dc-catholicism.blogspot.com/2014/02/cardinal-burke-tries-to-explain-some.html

TTC said...

Janet - I am so glad he attempted to straighten the crooked lines. I just think the continuous drip of confusing statements has initiated a resurgence that is taking new victims. I'm too worried about the ramifications to them to get giddy about the Pope's personal standing relative to his own salvation.

TTC said...

They're lining up on the Pope's front door:


http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/catholic-groups-seek-meeting-with-pope-over-reforms-1.1702156


Anonymous said...

I just read that TTC, this is not good, let's throw out all the other Sacraments, and share communion because it is love? As far as I'm concerned all the Sacraments represent love. Once again here I quote St. Paul , but then again I suppose Fr. Barron Would say he really wasn't Paul, "Therefore whoever shall eat this bread or drink the chalice of The Lord unworthily , shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of The Lord".