Cardinal Burke, the Remnant: Each part of the problem
Cardinal Raymond Burke is back in the headlines, and is likely to remain there for at least the next few weeks thanks to his recent interview with the Italian daily La Nuova Bussola, his appearance at this weekend’s conference in Rome, and an upcoming appearance scheduled to take place on April 21 in Philadelphia.
Over at the Remnant, Christopher Ferrara commented on the Nuova Bussola interview; recapping what he considers the most noteworthy – no, make that praiseworthy – “highlights.”
Unfortunately, neither Cardinal Burke nor Mr. Ferrara provided readers with anything remotely resembling a traditional Catholic approach to the current ecclesial crisis; the latter being the more disappointing of the two, though not entirely surprising given the Remnant’s decidedly “neo-conservative,” Americanist, editorial slant.
According to Mr. Ferrara:
The Cardinal finally presents the matter
squarely as what it always was: the imperative of direct opposition to a
Pope who is spreading heresy throughout the Church.
Let’s now take a look at some of the evidence Mr. Ferrara offered, in
the form of select quotes from Cardinal Burke, in support of his
positive reaction:
Many people who were baptized in a
Protestant ecclesial communion, but then entered into the full communion
of the Catholic Church because their original ecclesial communities
abandoned the Apostolic Faith… perceive that the Catholic Church is going down the same road of abandoning the faith. [Emphasis provided by Mr. Ferrara; i.e., not found in the Italian original.]
Setting aside for more important matters the laughable idea of “full communion”….An authentic traditional Catholic reaction to Cardinal Burke’s ludicrous statement is to condemn, in no uncertain terms, the utterly false suggestion that the “Protestant ecclesial communions” ever had “the Apostolic Faith” in the first place. By definition, the Protestant heretical communities are founded upon the abandonment of said Faith!
Look, I realize that many among us have become numb to this sort of neo-conservative nonsense, but let’s not fall into the trap of complacency, which is truly nothing less serious than the sin of compliance with evil.
Though not unexpected, it is absolutely shameful that Cardinal Burke – a man to whom many sincerely ignorant persons are looking for Catholic clarity and conviction – is dispensing such poisonous ideas.
Every bit as shameful as well, however, is the fact that the Remnant – a publication that boasts of being America’s oldest traditional Catholic newspaper – is offering this dreadful quote to readers as evidence that Cardinal Burke is finally living up to his duty to address the present situation plainly.
God forbid a sincere neo-Catholic, who is sufficiently disturbed by the Bergoglian menace to actually read the Remnant, should come away believing that Mr. Ferrara’s take is representative of traditional Catholic thinking.
Mr. Ferrara went on to quote Cardinal Burke, again, uncritically:
This whole situation leads me to reflect
more and more on the message of Our Lady of Fatima who warns us about
the evil — even more serious than the very grave evils suffered because
of the spread of atheistic communism — which is apostasy from the faith
within the Church. Number 675 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us…
I’m going to cut the quote short here, just as Mr. Ferrara (who
probably knows more about the Fatima message than I ever will) should
have.The Catechism of the Catholic Church is nothing more glorious than a user’s manual for those who wish to dwell in the church-of-man according to the false precepts of the Second Vatican Council, which is precisely the “apostasy from the faith within the Church” that Our Lady of Fatima forewarned us about!
I can hear the whine of the weak now:
Yes, but if we criticize the Council at every turn, the neo-conservatives will never hear us!
Nonsense. Not that long ago, I was a neo-conservative. In time, by God’s grace, I did hear the voice of traditional Catholicism as it consistently condemned the very Council that I once hailed in parishes and dioceses around the U.S.
Had those voices of tradition sounded like the Remnant does today, I’m not sure where I’d be at this moment in time.
And make no mistake about it:
A neo-conservative reading Mr. Ferrara’s article is hearing something alright; namely, that Cardinal Burke, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the almighty Council can be trusted, and what’s more, they are compatible not only with “traditional” Catholic thought, but with Our Lady’s warnings as given at Fatima as well.
The headline to Mr. Ferrara’s article reads: Cardinal Burke, Alluding to Fatima, Calls for Hierarchical Opposition to the Errors of Bergoglianism.
Opposition? Hardly. Here is what Cardinal Burke calls for:
In such a situation the bishops and cardinals have the duty to proclaim true doctrine.
Folks, this is just more conciliar rubbish; namely, the dangerous
notion that it is enough to simply repeat what is true apart from
condemning, loudly and clearly, what is false, as well as calling to
account those promoting it.In truth, the bishops and cardinals have the duty to proclaim true doctrine in every situation; the present situation calls for something more.
Cardinal Burke even had the audacity to say (as quoted uncritically yet again by Mr. Ferrara):
The great canonist of the thirteenth
century, Henry of Segusio, also known as Hostiensis, facing the
difficult question of how to correct a Roman Pontiff who acts in a way
contrary to his office, states that the College of Cardinals constitutes ade facto check against papal error.”
Yes, this is the same Cardinal Burke who has failed to deliver the
promised “formal act of correction” that he promised well over a year
ago.Perhaps he is taking refuge in the idea that it falls to the entire “College of Cardinals” to “correct a Roman Pontiff;” thus exempting himself from his own individual duty.
Whatever the case may be, is it too much to expect Christopher Ferrara and the Remnant to point out Cardinal Burke’s sheer unadulterated hypocrisy?
Apparently so.
Mr. Ferrara offered other quotes from Cardinal Burke that I won’t subject you to here. You may read them at the Remnant, and can voice your own opinion in their comment section (even though it may be subject to deletion).
In conclusion, Mr. Ferrara, who is apparently finding it very difficult to come to terms with the fact that man-of-the-Council Burke isn’t a Catholic superhero after all, stated:
Perhaps, given the attendance of Burke
and two other Cardinals at that meeting, we will see at last, from at
least some members of the College of Cardinals, a formal correction of
the most wayward Pope in Church history.
This is a reference to this weekend’s Roman conference; the same one that Michael Matt – publisher of America’s oldest… (you know the rest) – suggested is being guided by Cardinal Caffarra from Heaven.If by chance there are any here who still imagine that the Remnant is making a real contribution to the cause of Catholic tradition, the following should put an end to that fantasy once and for all:
Just weeks after President Donald Trump signed into law the omnibus spending bill that grants yet another half-a-billion taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood, guaranteeing that the abortion mill can continue slaughtering human beings by the hundreds of thousands for at least another year, Michael Matt, rather than voicing the outrage one should expect from every person of good will – never mind a self-identified traditional Catholic – wrote:
The effort to defund Planned Parenthood
is still a work in progress … And although the omnibus spending bill
which President Trump severely criticized, was a disappointment to
pro-lifers, there is still a lot going on proving that this is far from
over.
Severely criticized? He signed it into law!Mr. Matt then went on to provide readers with ten reasons why “the Left is in a panic,” ultimately concluding:
“Nice work, Mr. President!”
Yes, you read that correctly.
Bottom line, the Remnant isn’t just useless in a neutral sense; it is part of the problem and, frankly, downright dangerous.
Yes, I know that I may be inviting the weak among us to whine about “circular firing squads” and “in-fighting,” but if that’s the way you feel – leave these pages until you grow strong enough to digest solid food. This isn’t the blog for you.
For those still here who may be inclined to ask:
OK, other than pointing out that there’s a problem in so-called ‘traditional’ Catholic media, what are you going to do about it?
All I can say is stayed tuned. The answer is coming very soon.
