By Abraxham03 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81254560
CV NEWS FEED // Days after reports circulated of Pope Francis referring to Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke as his “enemy,” the pope has allegedly stripped the cardinal of his salary and housing.
According to a Tuesday Associated Press (AP) report, “Pope Francis has decided to punish one of his highest-ranking critics, Cardinal Raymond Burke, by revoking his right to a subsidized Vatican apartment and salary.”
The AP called the move “the second such radical action against a conservative American prelate this month.”
Just over two weeks ago, Francis removed Bishop Joseph Strickland as the head of the Diocese of Tyler.
Burke is a canon lawyer whom Pope Benedict XVI promoted to the rank of cardinal in 2010. Burke served as the archbishop of St. Louis from 2004 to 2008 and as the bishop of La Crosse in Wisconsin from 1995 to 2004.
He is widely considered to be a leading figure among conservative clerics, particularly in the United States.
According to The Pillar editor-in-chief JD Flynn:
The Pillar has confirmed that there was a Vatican meeting last week, at which Pope Francis discussed a punitive measure, pertaining to Cardinal Burke’s stipend and apartment, mentioning specifically that Cardinal Burke has been a source of “disunity” in the Church.
It was not clear to our sources-close-to-the-situation whether the measure would include both apartment and stipend — but since the stipend goes to cardinals living in Rome, if Burke loses the apartment and leaves Rome, he also loses the stipend.
“The Pillar has also confirmed that Burke has not been informed directly of the decision,” Flynn noted. “Burke, I suspect, will take it rather quietly.”
Per the Catholic News Agency (CNA), the “Italian Catholic news blog La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana [in English, The New Daily Compass] first reported pending actions against Burke on [Monday] Nov. 27.”
From the Daily Compass’ Monday report:
“Cardinal Burke is my enemy, so I am taking away his flat and salary”. This is what Pope Francis supposedly said at the meeting with the Heads of Dicasteries of the Roman Curia last 20 November, and which a Vatican source revealed to the Daily Compass. The indiscretion was later confirmed by other sources.
“Burke has clashed with the Holy Father on many issues regarding doctrine and Church Tradition,” wrote CatholicVote’s Madalaine Elhabbal, also on Monday. “The controversial publication of the three dubia submitted to Pope Francis, which Burke co-authored, is the most recent example of conflict between the two.”
Flynn speculated on the cardinal’s reaction to the news, writing that “while he speaks out vociferously on ecclesiastical issues as he sees them, Burke does not have the temperament to speak out on a personal slight.”
Flynn continued:
In fact, I’ve been in his company several times in recent years, and I’ve not heard him speak ill of the pope personally, or of his decisions to remove Burke from the leadership positions he once held.
As it happens, I’ve seen Burke grow visibly uncomfortable in the presence of Catholics insulting Francis personally, rather than criticizing the pontiff’s theological approach or leadership style.
He has that kind of personal piety, in my observation, which makes the idea of denigrating the person of the pope very uncomfortable — even while he is absolute — and sometimes strident — in his criticisms of Francis’ approach to some issues.
“But whether Burke speaks out or not, cardinals will be talking,” Flynn wrote. “And I think even some very moderate, institutionalist cardinals — those who find Burke’s outspokenness distasteful — will regard this papal decision as beyond the pale.”
