Cardinal Burke confirms Vatican ouster

Cardinal Burke confirms Vatican ouster

In a brief interview with NCR Saturday at the Vatican, U.S. Cardinal Raymond Burke confirmed that he has been told he will be removed as the chief justice of the Vatican's Supreme Court. Asked who had told him he would be removed, Burke replied: "Who do you think?" The original blog follows.

From Friday: U.S. Cardinal Raymond Burke, a former archbishop of St. Louis known for his rigorist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, has reportedly confirmed rumors that Pope Francis is planning to remove him from his influential post as the chief justice of the Vatican's Supreme Court.
Burke is reported to confirm the rumors, which have attracted attention in recent weeks as a sign that Francis may be preparing a tonal shift at the Vatican, in a piece Friday by BuzzFeed [1] News [1].
“I very much have enjoyed and have been happy to give this service, so it is a disappointment to leave it,” Burke is reported to say in the piece, which goes on to say that the cardinal is yet to receive formal notice of his removal.

The rumors in recent weeks have speculated that Burke, currently the prefect of the Vatican's Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, would be moved to the largely ceremonial post of patron to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

"In the church as priests, we always have to be ready to accept whatever assignment we’re given," Burke is reported to say in the BuzzFeed piece. "And so I trust by accepting this assignment I trust that God will bless me, and that’s what’s in the end most important.”

Burke, who took up the Vatican role in 2008, has made news frequently in recent days voicing disapproval with the direction of a worldwide meeting of Catholic bishops, known as a synod, taking place at the Vatican from Oct. 5-19.

He has voiced staunch disapproval in particular to a landmark document [2] released by the synod on Monday, which called on the church to listen more widely to people's concerns and to apply mercy more generously.

Burke has said in interviews that the document was "not of the church" and that Francis should issue a clarification reaffirming traditional Catholic doctrines.
The Apostolic Signatura is the Vatican's highest court and is widely responsible for ensuring the proper administration of justice in the Catholic church. The Knights of Malta is a lay religious order that seeks to aid people in need around the world.

Burke also previously served as the bishop of La Crosse, Wis. A native of that state, he has been known through the years for his staunch conservative positions. In one instance in 2009, he called on U.S. bishops from his position at the Vatican to withhold Communion from pro-choice Catholic politicians. 
Francis previously removed Burke in December from an influential position as a member of the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops, the Vatican office responsible for advising the pontiff on bishop appointments around the world.
NCR will update this story as more information is made available.
http://ncronline.org/print/blogs/ncr-today/cardinal-burke-reportedly-confirms-vatican-ouster 



In Other News: 

Card Marx: Francis is seeking input to take Church "forward"...

Cardinal Marx= Modernist

(Vatican Radio) How to bring together Church doctrine with the pressing pastoral concerns of its leaders. That’s the dilemma that participants at the Synod of Bishops on the Family have been wrestling with over the past two weeks and it was also the focus of the daily press briefing for journalists on Friday.  To share some of the latest developments from behind the doors of the Synod Hall, Fr Lombardi was joined by Cardinal Reinhard Marx, head of the German bishops conference, by Archbishop Georges Pontier, head of the French bishops conference and by Colombian lawyer, Dr Ilva Hoyos Castaneda, one of the lay experts at the Synod....

How can Church leaders from different continents bridge their cultural differences, especially on the most sensitive issues of morality and sexuality? How can Catholics engage in constructive dialogue  between deeply held beliefs and secular government policies? And how can they uphold Church teaching on marriage and the family while sharing in the daily struggles of people in so-called “irregular situations”?

"Forward"...Sound Familiar?

Cardinal Marx from Munich noted that in Germany many committed Catholics are asking how the Church can be more inclusive of those who are divorced and remarried or living in homosexual relationships. Exclusion is not the language of the Church, he said, insisting that Catholics must move away from a “black and white…all or nothing” vocabulary. While there are significantly different perspectives at the Synod, according to a bishops’ cultural experiences or personal encounters, the cardinal said Francis is seeking input that can take the Church forward, open new doors and discover new possibilities for bringing the Gospel to men and women today. Francis did not invite us to two Synods, he remarked with a smile,  to hear us simply repeat what we’ve always been saying!  

Archbishop Pontier from Marseille spoke of the difficult process of engaging in dialogue around these hotly debated issues of same-sex relationships, that have brought hundreds of thousands of French families out onto the streets in recent months. While he said he was happy to see so many young people publicly defending their traditional Catholic values, he said the urgent question is how to accompany them and help them move beyond confrontation to a fruitful debate. None of us has all the answers, he said, and we must help people to recognise the truth in the other person’s perspective.

Finally Colombian professor Ilva Hoyos Castaneda, who serves as her country’s Delegate Procurator for the defence of children and the family, said lay people must lead this crucial dialogue between Church and State, making sure that the voice of Catholic social teaching is being heard in the public arena. The welcome presence of women in this Synod, she said, is a sign of the new path that is opening up within the Church. 

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/10/17/card_marx_pope_is_seeking_input_to_take_church_forward_/1108844