Card Burke new Patron of Sovereign Military Order of Malta
(Vatican Radio) The
Holy Father has named Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, until now Prefect of
the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, as Patron of the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta.At the same time, His Holiness named Archbishop Dominique Mamberti as Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura. Archbishop Mamberti had been serving as Secretary for Relations with States.
Finally, the Supreme Pontiff has named as Secretary for Relations with States Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, who has been serving as Apostolic Nuncio to Australia.
My Comment: I have no idea of the type of person Archbishop Dominique Mamberti is. I'm sure we'll all find out soon though. I find it fascinating, though, that there is still no replacement for the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship. What's taking so long?
61 comments:
Well, it certainly did not require binoculars to see this coming…
The head of Divine Worship hasn't been named yet because Matry Haughan is currently on tour and unavailable.
"I wonder why?"
Do you really? I don't. It's because Cardinal Burke is a forceful and effective proponent of faithful Catholic doctrine and morality.
"... things are indeed going in the direction we've been suspecting..."
Ooooooh! How ominous! Is it a quote from Mickey Spillane, Rex Stout, or Dan Brown?
Who knows how Cardinal Burke will be treated in history, but this chapter has been interesting with his loyal opposition position to the pontiff, something I was taught liberals could do to Pope Paul VI and Pope St. John Paul II.
Evidently Pope Francis doesn't buy into loyal opposition from a curial member cardinal and doesn't like Cardinal Burke's style either.
Maybe Cardinal Burke could have influenced Pope Francis with some minor adjustments to his style and rhetoric without changing his position??????
And who of us on a parish, deanery or diocesan level would put up for very long a staff member questioning the boss all the time in public, through international interviews and the like.
Like His Holiness or not, His Holiness is the Supreme Pontiff and only answers to God at His Holiness' personal judgement and again at the Final Judgement.
This traditional, conservative, orthodox Catholic knows that, don't you?
To riff on FrAJM's last post, I do have to wonder if Cardinal Burke may have done something personal that offended the Pope. I say that because I do that a lot to my bosses when they say and do things that they should, in my estimation, know better than to do. I have trouble hiding the tone of voice or posture. And when I try hardest to be nice it comes across even more offensive. He may be Italian in temperament, but is Latin American in temperament and I wonder if under a very thin veneer of congeniality he is easily offended. Such is the nature of emotional people.
CDW?
Wait until next Saturday. The Big Shoe always hits the floor on Saturday.
This shows just how petty a person Francis really is.
But good for Cardinal Burke. He gets to live in a beautiful Roman palace. He can say the traditional Mass anywhere he likes and best of all he doesn't have to be around Pope Francis and his minions.
There is no way to know, but there have been suggestions in the press that Burke openly opposed the election of Bergoglio in the conclave. If that is the case, we should not be surprised. God IS all merciful, but that doesn't necessarily apply to popes.
Meanwhile it looks like the Canon Law courts have a strong possibility of being more Mamberti-Pamby.
..."Like His Holiness or not, His Holiness is the Supreme Pontiff and only answers to God at His Holiness' personal judgement and again at the Final Judgement."...
Well said, Father!
Gaudete in Domino Semper!
No, Anonymous, a quote from Spillane would have gone like this: "So, I decided to pay this punk that called himself Anonymous a visit. I was packing the .45 knowing I probably wouldn't need it for the sissy, but you never know what kind of scum these creeps hang out with. As I passed her desk, Velda had her chair pushed back, her luscious long legs crossed at the ankles in front her. She stretched her arms over her head and yawned..I thought her blouse might split right down the front. "Going to see sissy pants," she purred.
"Yeah, I need to pay this snot nose a call. He talks like he knows something, but I doubt it."
When I knocked on his door, he opened it with some smart remark, "So, what's the tough guy shamus doing here so early? Couldn't find any blonde bimbos to hit on?"
So, I cracked him across the face with the barrel of my rod and he went down whimpering like some whipped dog. I didn't even bother hanging around. Whatever he knew wasn't worth my time...
Good observations Father MacDonald. No one was more disappointed than I was that Cardinal Burke was not elected Pope. I still hold out hope that this may one day occur, if God so wills it. I was blessed to meet Cardinal Burke and assist at a Mass that he offered at St. Charles Seminary in Philadelphia a few years back. He is a gentle, humble soul but a fiercely loyal son and defender of the truth and, I think, often misunderstood in the way that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI so often was. I could see how his demeanor might have put him at odds with the gregarious Pope Francis. Sadly, I have now largely tuned this Pope out because of the confusion he has wrought. I respect him, but I know the truth, and I pray that in the end, no one is mislead because of him and those who are so eager to distort his every word to suit their own agenda. I rely on the sacraments, not any prince of the Church, to sustain me in these difficult times. And I leave it to God to judge the pontificate of Francis.
What is your relationship with your Bishop like, Fr. McD?
I really have no way of knowing, but it seems that there are many priests here hiding behind a fake name from their congregations or their bosses or Bishops.
These are often the same ones who make derogatory remarks about "Anons" like me. (Who knows...I may be a Bishop..)
I have a good relationship and a transparent blog as far as who I am.
LOVE Mickey Spillane...
"And who of us on a parish, deanery or diocesan level would put up for very long a staff member questioning the boss all the time in public, through international interviews and the like."
At the start, Cdl. Burke didn't question the Pope, but Cdl. Kasper's theology. Only when Kasper said his views have been approved by the Pope [true] and in fact, claimed he is the Pope's spokesman [true] did Burke said, "Why doesn't the Pope speak for himself? He has no laryngitis."
With a boss like Pope Francis, whose views endanger entire people's faith, it's a "staff member's" duty to question him in public.
Ours is a reasonable religion, where Faith and Reason go hand-in-hand. It's not simply "Pray, pay, and obey."
Even St. Paul called out Pope St. Peter to his face when the latter was wrong. That was heroic.
No comments from any of you undercover padres?
"Then again, following the cardinal's recent comments that the church under Francis "is like a ship without a rudder" and affirming "the risk" of a schism over the Pope's decisions following next year's Ordinary Synod, one senior US prelate termed the steady stream of polemics a form of "public suicide." - Whispers in the Loggia
Burke should keep it up…both barrels. He doesn't really have anything to lose.
I like Gene's idea. He could get demoted to Cincinnati.
It's not about Cardinal Burke, so whether or not "he" has something or nothing to lose isn't the point.
One of the continuing issues most churches, including our own, face is that individuals move to the front and center, for one reason or another, which can have the effect of diverting the Church - congregation, deanery, diocese, universal - from its mission.
If this fracas is understood as a Zero Sum game where there has to be a "winner" and there has to be a "loser" then the Church will not be served.
Following Christ is a sort of zero sum game, Ignotus. Either you are willing to confess your belief in Him and His Real Presence and Resurrection or you are not. There are definite winners and losers, and we already know which one you are.
I don't know, RCG, there is always Detroit...
Gene,
If you or should I say Mickey need someone to ride along on the next pistol whoppin I would like to volunteer. Mike
As a loyal son of the Church Cardinal Burke did the only thing he could do, particularly when Francis exposed his hand by appointing six liberal bishops who wrote the mid-term report, which totally went against Catholic teaching and did not report what the synod said. Some are saying that the speed with which the English version was produced shows that the mid-term report was actually written before the synod.
Cardinal Burke is only reflecting what many Catholics are saying. As a lay person living through the pontificates of St John Paul The Great and Benedict XVI I am accustomed to the Pope upholding and promoting Church teaching. I have yet to see this from Francis. Misinterpretation aside he has had plenty of opportunity to do so. I expect more from a Pope. I expect leadership. There have been bad Popes before and we don't owe allegiance to a Pope who does not uphold Church teaching and if Francis does not uphold Church teaching at the next synod then there will no doubt be a split, because what faithful Catholic will go down that path of modernism and reject all that the Church has taught for centuries?
If Francis is truly concerned for the Church he will heed what Cardinal Burke has said and try to steer a different course from the one he has been on since he was elected Pope. However, I can't see that happening because for me the dye was cast when he appointed six liberal bishops to the synod to write the mid-term report. What President of a company appoints six members to write a report contrary to what he himself things?
I think the truth is he never expected the bishops (the company directors) to stand up in opposition as they did. Deo gratias.
We will need them to continue to stand firm over the next 12 months and we can depend on Cardinal Burke for that - especially as he now has more freedom to speak out for the truth.
Deo gratias for Cardinal Burke. He has shown leadership where it has been so sorely lacking and we do appear to be a rudderless ship.
And to go back to the allegory of a company: who knows of any President of any company who didn't end up being rolled once many of the directors and shareholders realised that his actions were likely to destroy the company?
I foresee a roll is completely on the cards ...
Jan
What Pope Francis has done to Cardinal Burke is not only a demotion, it is an intentional, public, humiliation. Cardinal Burke will be fine, but how sad it is to see a pope act like this. And it will come back on him. but I guess the Church desrves this pope because of our grevious sins in themlast 50 years. I guess we have to carry this cross with dignity and trust. There is no other way.
If what you say is true, sin is certainly involved in this. Popes and cardinals are not immune from sin but it is unfortunate when it is of a public feud type. Cardinal Burke must share in some of the culpability though, in that his voice became shrill, too public and he was the lone wolf crying out and in what many thought was a challenge to the current papacy. Pope can be authoritarian and this one certainly can with his political role models in the banana republics of South America.
Pope Francis and Cardinal Burke illustrate the great chasm in the Church today, oil and water and I don't think this episode will heal that separation but only accelerate it. That is sad. The Holy Father has more control over healing this rift in the Church not any cardinal or groups of cardinals.
JBS, is the picture by your name, indeed, the "Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star?" How come Anonymous (snot nose), Ignotus, and Anon 2 have not called you a racist yet? Maybe they just don't know what it is...
"We are a band of brothers
And native to the soil
Fighting for our liberty
With treasure, blood, and toil.
And when our rights are threatened,
The cry came near and far,
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single Star.
Hurrah, Hurrah, for Southern rights hurrah
Hurrah for the bonnie Flag that bears a single star!"
Gene, thank you for pointing out the controversial connotations of the design. I've changed the color of the star so as not to give offense, and I've deleted comments featuring the other.
Pin/Gene - I have confessed my faith in Christ and the Church's teaching repeatedly.
Equating following Christ with following Burke is a serious error. While it is consistent with the "Cult of Personality" that has become common in our culture, it is wholly inconsistent with Christian faith.
Actually, Father, the announcement about Cardinal Burke's transfer to Malta was touted weeks before the synod and Cardinal Burke speaking out. It would have happened regardless. Just as the meekest of all the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate have been shut down, so will there be an attempt to shut down anyone who goes against modernism.
I don't think Cardinal Burke was too shrill at all. If he had not spoken out as he did, along with Cardinal Pell, Bishop Athanasius Schneider and others, it is highly likely we would have got an entirely different result from the synod.
In fact up to the time that Cardinal Kasper made his comments at the earlier meeting of bishops, Cardinal Burke was going down the line of Pope Francis being misinterpreted, much the same line as yourself. But it obviously became clear from then what was about to happen and in many ways the mid-term report was a lot worse than anticipated. I think Cardinal Burke was as shocked as the rest of us and that galvanised him into action.
The only way to save the Church from a possible schism is for Pope Francis to steer a new course, and it is only by Cardinals, Bishops, priests and laity speaking out against error that he is in any way likely to do so.
Cardinal Burke is indeed reflecting the feelings of many of the priests and laity who do feel the barque is rudderless, and it is about time Francis started smelling the sheep himself.
Jan
JBS, I am disappointed in you. Like so many, you cave to the politically correct. You cannot see that just such a mentality is why the Church is in the sad place it is.
Ignotus, no one is equating following Christ with following Burke. Once again, you twist people's words and prevaricate. You refused to confess your faith when it was directly challenged. Nothing you say now has much credibility…in fact, nothing you say anytime has much credibility.
Gene your cynicism about the Church is just too damn Presbyterian or Calvinistic and anything but Catholic. The Church is not a sad place it is where Jesus Christ offers the balm of his grace to us poor miserable sinners and lifts the soul of the believer unto Himself especially in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Even the worst celebrated valid Mass does this and thus brings joy to the sinner.
Get off the negativity about the Church. It is the Body of Christ whose Head is the Lord. The Risen Lord's Body! There is nothing sad about our Lord and it is sacrileges to say so.
Father, with all the bad news, parish closings, etc, I agree that the Church is in a sad state, which is what Jean meant, I am sure, rather than that the Church is sad. There is a difference. It is only in recognising this fact that any change will occur. There is no point any longer hiding our heads in the sand. More prayer is needed.
Jan
Now, Fr, where did I say there was anything sad about Christ or the Risen Lord's Body? Unfortunately, the worst celebrated Mass (which is most of them) brings no joy to this sinner. I attend because I must. My joy comes from knowing that through Christ's Sacrifice I am redeemed and that God uses the Church, in spite of herself and her enemies within, to effect His good and perfect will. BTW, my theology is now Augustinian-Calvinist "light" and not Presbyterian. LOL! Calvin was not as cynical about the Catholic Church as Luther was. His Institutes may be seen as a stringent dialogue with the Church rather than, as in Luther, a rant against it.
Father McDonald I have to agree with with what you say above:
"The Holy Father has more control over healing this rift in the Church not any cardinal or groups of cardinals."
Between now and next October, everyone needs to dedicate more time to praying for him and the rest of the hierarchy of the Church.
Jan,
While there is certainly some confusion and fatigue, I suggest that things aren't so bad. For example, thanks to the internet, Catholics now have ready access to such things as the teachings of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, and the dogmatic definitions of the ecumenical councils. The Apostolic Truth cannot be hidden. There's no-one preventing any of us from praying, fasting or giving alms, and Christ is just as effective in the sacraments today as He ever was. If you seek the salvation of your soul, then you'll find it.
Are there troubles? Yes. Is there confusion among lost souls? Yes. Is there liturgical irreverence? Yes. But we should be joyful in the knowledge that, with our willing cooperation, Christ will triumph.
Gene,
I am a patriotic Southerner, and have never denied the fact. However, I was not intending to signify such patriotism with the star and field, especially if people find it offensive, as you suggested they could.
That's ok, JBS, I, too, am a loyal Southerner and do not give one rat's behind whether people find the flag offensive or not. If they do, they are only revealing their ignorance and bigotry. They may go and perform certain physiological impossibilities on themselves.
FrAJM, I understand your response towards Gene based on the tones of his posts, but I ee them as pretty accurate and efficient mirrors of what we are doing. It only seems rude because it does not allow us the chance to rationalise our way out of what he is saying. No I will also note that language, even English, being imperfect there is a chance Gene could be misinterpreted too far the other way. GEne and I have called each other out on this blog and in email and evn phone calls, so I don't think he is doing anything but forcing us to confront uncomfortable issues.
Some guy on another forum just said that Francis is the equivalent of having Joel Osteen become Pope…LOL! As extreme as that is, I had to laugh because, if that is what other Christians are saying, Francis is making the Church a laughing stock.
Pin/Gene - I have all the credibility I need, and none of it rests on your opinions.
JBS - The Apostolic Truth was never been hidden, even in pre-internet days. The problem with easy accessibility is that too many people think that the documents of the Church can be read, understood, and interpreted with the same simplicity as a Betty Crocker recipe.
rcg - Pin/Gene is creating controversy where none exists or exaggerating small molehills into mountains. He is an example of those who feel "entitled," in his case, to be in charge, to have the final say, to be completely right while everyone else is completely wrong.
Ignotus, RCG knows me and my history very well and, I am sure, is now laughing at your assessment of me.
BTW, you are such an arrogant…well, pater ignotus…LOL! LOL!
You do know that, back in the day, "pater ignotus" was a designation often used in hospitals to label the crib of a bastard child. Don't you just love irony? LOL!
Pin/Gene - Everyone who reads the blog knows your history very well, too.
Dear Pater Ignotus,
I wonder if a priest in 1900 were to choose not to inform oppressed workers in his parish about Church teaching on organized labor and the right to strike, withholding this teaching so as not to upset abusive but wealthy donors, could this be a case of hiding the truth in pre-internet days?
Dear Jay Bee ESS, Could you name the 1900 priest who did not give access to AAS to the oppressed workers in "his" parish, or are you proposing a fictional circumstance?
Oh Please! Everybody knew Cardinal Burke was long gone before the Synod. The Spirit of Vatican II blows for a few more years with it's evil vindictiveness and then it is over. Don't be surprised if Burke is Pius XIII.
Jody, I sure hope you are right. I am not that optimistic, though.
PI, I promise you I don't like what Gene tells us, it makes me cringe. But there is an aweful lot of truth in it. Maybe all true. We have a lot of complacency that is very, very dangerous when other people's souls are at risk. There has been a hegemony of disrespect for the Lord our God in our liturgy, we have been sloppy and quibbling in our faith. Rather than get upset with the decline of Faith and decay in society we have made excuses that have emptied the pews and filled the abortion clinics. Loss of hope is an offense against the Holy Spirit and while we claim to have it we can't seem to share it, so is it real hope or conceit? We are walking blythly along blind to danger and someone is shouting warnings to us. It seems that the only way to get our attention is to call us names and we are offended at the name rather our own foolishness.
Jody,
If you do end up being right, then you and I can look forward to, once again, being truly excited at the announcement of the name of the next pope (as we both were when the name Joseph Ratzinger was announced). We KNEW what we were getting then!
Pater Ignotus,
I have read accounts of priests in France declining to explain these teachings at that time, just as I've read accounts of USA bishops in the 1850's declining to explain papal teaching against slavery. However, I read these accounts in the seminary library in the Nineties, so I'm afraid I'm unable to provide further details.
rcg - I don't agree that what Gene says contains a lot of truth. It contains a lot of whining, racism, and anger, but little truth.
With that as the milieu from which Gene's pronouncements come, I don't see much, if any, reason to read him as anything more than a vulgar curmudgeon.
Complacency is not a uniquely Church problem. In the last election, only 31.4% of eligible voters in Georgia went to the polls. People who are reasonably comfortable, religiously or politically/materially, don't concern themselves with voting, I think.
I am concerned about the materialism/consumerism/individualism that is causing our societal problems, but I'm not so short-sighted as to think that we can solve complex, long-term problems with simplistic solutions. These are Gene's stock-in-trade.
We don't need anyone shouting warnings - we are aware of the challenges we face. We need workable solutions.
Anyone interested, please sign this online petition thanking Card Burke for his service:
https://www.lifesitenews.com/petitions/thank-you-cardinal-burke-for-your-vatican-service
MR,
Thanks, I already signed this morning.
I think that to call Gene a curmudgeon is way off base. He has a good sense of humor. Undiplomatic yes gut a killjoy- never. In fact he might have a career in writing detective novels. He left me wanting more. I truly did LOL, to use one of Gene's favorite shorthand phrases. I do think that PI and Gene should bury the hatchet and reconcile. It's not good to have so much anger toward your fellow man.
Mike
Gene at 6:56 a.m. on November 9, 2014:
I wouldn’t dream of calling JBS a racist, Bonnie Blue flag or no flag. He doesn’t fit the profile. =)
In general, the “meaning” of a flag, as in the case of any symbol, including words, depends on the context; and that meaning will not necessarily be the same for the one communicating and the one receiving the communication unless, perhaps, they share and inhabit the same context.
This lack of shared context is the source of much misunderstanding, both of intentions behind communications and of reactions to communications. However, such misunderstanding can perhaps be more benign than where the context is indeed shared and very clear and there is no misunderstanding at all, just a vicious intent behind the communication that is correctly perceived by the recipient. If we want to be charitable and give the benefit of the doubt to the one communicating, we will put the communication in the former category, unless there is incontrovertible evidence to the contrary. This suggests the wisdom of being careful in our communications. But I am not telling you anything you don’t already know.
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