...His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke has granted an exclusive interview to the Hungarian independent Catholic news and commentary site, Katolikus Válasz.
This interview was conducted in a written form and the questions were sent to His Eminence on August 24. Due to the length of the interview, (they) decided to publish it in two parts. (They) published the first part on Wednesday, September 6. The complete second part is here.
Katolikus Válasz: In some circles you are regularly being criticized for the rich liturgical vestments you use for the Holy Mass. How would you respond to someone who claims that your practice violates the moral obligation for Christian simplicity, or that it is in contradiction with the vision of "a poor Church for the poor" that Pope Francis desires to achieve?
Cdl. Burke: When Mary anointed the feet of Our Lord at Bethany, it was Judas Iscariot who criticized her for using so expensive a substance to honor Our Lord (cf. Jn 12,4-5). Our Lord's response to the criticism teaches us the true meaning of our worship of God and the reason why it demands the best of what we have to offer: "The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me" (Jn 12,8).
True poverty of spirit, as taught in the Beatitudes, means the recognition that all that I am and have is God's gift and depends upon His immeasurable and unceasing love, and leads us to employ what is best, most true and most beautiful in our just response to God which is Divine Worship. The beauty of a church building and its appointments, the sacred vestments, vessels and linens, and sacred music employed in worship have nothing to do with me or any priest but have everything to do with Christ, Our Lord and Savior, Who is acting sacramentally to make us holy. The beauty of everything employed in Sacred Worship, in fact, takes our minds away from earthly realities, in order to lift them to the heavenly reality taking place before our eyes.
The vesting of the priest is, in fact, an act of ultimate humility for he allows himself to be covered with the signs that it is not he who is acting in the Sacred Liturgy, but Christ is acting through him. As Pope Saint John Paul II taught, in fidelity to the constant teaching of the Church, the priest at the Holy Mass puts his voice and his whole person at the disposal of Christ Who makes sacramentally present His Sacrifice on Calvary and its incomparable fruit: His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity as the Heavenly Bread of our earthly pilgrimage.
Katolikus Válasz: How would you summarize your vision for the Church? How should it be and what role should it play in the world?
Cdl. Burke: The Church is the communion of all those who have been reborn in Christ through Baptism and, therefore, are adopted sons and daughters of God in Christ, the only-begotten Son of God Incarnate. The Church embraces not only those of us who are on pilgrimage on earth to our true home in Heaven, but also the souls in Purgatory, and the saints in glory. In the past, we referred to the richness of the communion of the Church as the Church Militant, the Church Suffering and the Church in Glory.
My vision for the Church is that she and each of her members will live ever more faithfully and generously in Christ, so that the glory of Christ may light up our world, as we await the Final Coming of Christ, when he will return all creation to the Father, inaugurating "new heavens and a new earth" (2Pt 3,13).
The world, despite appearances to the contrary, is hungering and thirsting for the truth and love which Christ alone brings to us, setting us free from sin and placing us in a right relationship with one another and our world. By being faithful and generous to her true identity, as the Bride of Christ, the Church brings to the world what the world most needs and desires.
9 comments:
An excellent answer . . Would it be that Cardinal Burke should one day become Francis' successor and take the name Pius XIII . . ?
Cardinal Burke will never be pope. If not stripped of his title, he will most likely be stripped of all the duties of a Cardinal. Including voting in the next conclave. And make no mistake the next pope will be far worse than Francis. He has stacked the college with the most liberal bishops he could find. Cupich has a better chance at this point than Burke.
I seriously doubt we will ever see a pope from North America. But if the reports are accurate that the cardinals have great regret for electing Francis, him causing such confusion and division they never expected, there is hope the next pope may be Cardinal Sarah, Cardinal Ranjith or Cardinal Piacenza. The next pope will need to be a living saint to calm the storm in the Church Francis has caused.
Ironically, Cardinal Burke who wears the fancy "togs" is a very humble man. I saw a picture of him serving dinner to seminarians. Wake me up when you see a photo of "humble" Santita doing the same
If Pope Francis does not see this as a personal attack I think he won't have any problem with it. Perhaps now we see clearly what Pope Francis views as the form of the Church he wants: a highly differentiated Church with local practices and beliefs forming the interpretation of the central message of Christ. If Cardinal Burke, the SSPX, Cardinal Cupich, or Cardinal Kasper want to interpret the various teachings of the Church differently for execution, then the other cardinals and bishops can as well; but stay out of each other's way. Burke can wear gloves as long as he shts up if a priest wants to offer a naked Mass at the Burning Man in seasonal body paint.
Tellingly, a truly "humble" Cardinal Burke would never allow photographic reports of his "humility" to be, conveniently, broadcast to the entire world.
If asked about the state of his soul in this regard, I suspect he would reply, "Oh, there's nothing you could teach ME about humility..."
One should look, dress, and act like a Bishop...it's hardly too much to ask.
Bean, you misspelled "Pope Francis".
I cannot improve upon H.E.'s response. That response is obviously consistent with the gospel passage he provided. Unfortunately, to me, H.H.'s progressive approach, though traditional leaning, is somewhat iconoclastic. Even monastics, particularly those so beautifully portrayed on the New Liturgical Movement blog site, rely on sacred vessels and vestiture of the best quality and beauty. And, though their chapel structures might be austere, their altars and other appointments possess a simple elegance. In the Christian East as well as in the Oriental Churches you will also find this consistency. Cardinal Burke might live frugally or, well but, not to excess however, he clearly endeavors to use the best available to act in the person of Christ during divine worship. That, to me, is humility.
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