Back in the 1960’s, nuns relentlessly drilled into me and other St. Louis Catholic grade school students the complicated concept of Papal Infallibility.
Perfection is not a human virtue – until you make Pope. Thence, through prayer and meditation, the wisdom of God guides one man to revelation of the true.
Good Catholics, therefore, owe the Pope full obedience and unquestioning acceptance of what he decrees.
Well, the former Archbishop of St. Louis, Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke doesn’t float that boat…
Upon his arrival, Mr. Pompeo gave a pat on the shoulder to Cardinal Raymond Burke, a leader of the conservative opposition to [Pope] Francis within the church hierarchy. – NY Times 9/30/20
Now the resident gadfly in Rome, last week Burke had met with the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo after the secretary got rebuffed for a meeting with the Pope. (The Pope doesn’t meet with politicians during their election season.)
Further, Burke demands that Democrat candidate Joe Biden be denied Holy Communion (a short step short of excommunication from the faith):
The cardinal gave two canonical reasons why Biden must not receive Holy Eucharist. The first reason is out of “charity” toward Biden himself, said Burke, who wants to remind the Catholic politician that to receive unworthily is to “endanger the salvation of his own soul.”
But secondly, the prelate observed that it gives “scandal” to everyone.
Biden’s theological crime: though he supports the Pope’s positions on social justice (including immigration), he also supports the U. S. Supreme Court’s decision in Roe V. Wade as law.
Though long-gone from St. Louis, Burke retains ties to ultra-conservatives in this area, including serving on the Advisory Board of Credo of The Catholic Laity. CREDO began in May 1995 by a small band of faithful Roman Catholic men. They felt the Church in St. Louis, Missouri was going “off-track”. That group gets “credit” for slamming down local ecumenical discussions on immigration.
Marie Kenyon – a dedicated Catholic lawyer who devotes her talents to a more just world – was suspended by new St. Louis Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski for daring to discuss how good people ought to consider immigration policy as part of the process of reviewing candidates. In other words, Kenyon lost her job for supporting Pope Francis’ position.
Back before the 2016 election then Archbishop Robert Carlson dedicated two weekly columns in The St. Louis Review to demanding that Catholics vote for Donald Trump, a “pro-life” candidate.
The Catholic Church is, of course, recognized by IRS as a non-profit and therefore prohibited from promoting any political candidate. Carlson danced about that by never naming Trump but by describing as the only acceptable candidate as one who matched with The Donald’s one position. Voting for Clinton for President meant going to Hell.
Surprise! A lightly edited version of Carlson’s 9/16/16 column appeared in some Catholic Church bulletins the other weekend. Voting for Biden also means going to Hell.
Presidential candidate John F. Kennedy once had to choose between meeting with a group of bishops or a group of nuns. He met with the nuns: ‘the bishops always vote Republican.’
Yes, the leadership of the universal church in St. Louis ignore their faithful leaving Catholic churches for denomination-less mega churches or sleeping-in on Sundays. They ignore the guidance of their divinely chosen leader. But, damn it, they demand Catholics vote Republican.
See you in Hell.
Glenn Koenen