POPE FRANCIS TAKES AWAY CARDINAL BURKE'S VATICAN PRIVILEGES
Pope Francis has decided to remove Cardinal Burke’s Vatican privileges which include financial benefits and a rent-free Vatican apartment. The rationale for this decision is rooted in the role that Cardinal Burke himself has chosen to play in the Catholic Church today. Cardinal Burke’s official status in the Catholic Church is that he is a retired cardinal. He holds no official position in the Vatican, nor in the church in the United States. Consequently, he has no jurisdiction to speak as an official representative of the Catholic Church. When he speaks, he is expressing the views of Cardinal Burke and the right-wing Catholics who share and support his views. He has assumed leadership of a right-wing Catholic Movement, particularly in the United States, which is determined to discredit Francis’ papacy and overturn his reform of the church. In this role he is, de facto, functioning as a second pope, or an anti-pope, in the Catholic Church. Cardinal Burke and his right-wing Catholic followers are not just carrying on a friendly conversation with Pope Francis. They are fiercely attacking him with the intention of undoing his papacy and undermining his effort to reform the Catholic Church today according to the teachings of the Second Vatican Council.
In pursuit of their goal of overturning Pope Francis’ reform, Cardinal Burke and his right-wing Catholic supporters have employed various tactics. They have questioned the legitimacy of his papacy, claiming that Pope Benedict never resigned, that Francis is a usurper, or that the chair of Peter is presently vacant, Sedevancantism. They supported fabricated charges against Pope Francis in a failed effort to force him to resign. Many have rejected the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, and some go as far as to deny the validity and legitimacy of the council itself. The tone of their attacks on Pope Francis have often been extremely vicious, unfair, unjust, and mean spirited. Their charges often are based upon false accusations, misinformation, and distorted interpretations of Pope Francis’ positions.
Often, their criticisms of Pope Francis are based upon their own misinterpretations of the church’s actual teachings. They present their own positions, beliefs, and interpretations of the church’s teaching as if they were the official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. These interpretations become the standard by which they judge Francis’ statements, directives, and his proposals to reform the church. Based upon these self-selected criteria they have, on various occasions, called Pope Francis an apostate, a heretic, a schismatic, or all the above. As the leader of the right-wing Catholic Movement, Cardinal Burke has set himself up as a counter magisterium to the official magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church led by Pope Francis. On two occasions Cardinal Burke has sent so called “dubia” to Pope Francis raising questions about the orthodoxy of some of Francis’ teaching and demanding that the pope respond to him. In doing so he is assuming a magisterial role that he does not possess in the Roman Catholic Church. Although Cardinal Burke publicly says that he is not attacking Pope Francis’ efforts to reform the Catholic Church, all the questions he raises in these two “dubia” clearly indicate otherwise.
For the past ten years Pope Francis has been very patient with Cardinal Burke’s attacks upon his papacy and authority. It is possible that the final blow that moved Pope Francis to act against the cardinal was Burke’s convocation of an unsanctioned synod on the eve of the general meeting of the Vatican Synod of Bishops on Synodality. Burke used this occasion to deliver a stinging rebuke against Francis’ vision of synodality and his overall mission to reform the church. Furthermore, through his attacks upon the pope and his authority, Burke has violated the oath he took when he was made a cardinal. Austen Ivereigh points out that a cardinal takes an oath promising obedience “to blessed Peter in the person of the supreme Pontiff.” (Austen Ivereigh, “What Pope Francis said about Cardinal Burke,” Where Peter Is, November 29, 2023). Ivereigh further explains that “Whoever is pope has the charism of authority which Jesus entrusted to the apostle Peter. It is not a matter of personal preference for this or that pope. To undermine, question, and to throw into doubt the legitimacy of the authority of the office of Peter by claiming that its occupant cannot be trusted with that office goes directly against the oath cardinals take.” (Ivereigh, Where Peter Is, November 29, 2023). Cardinal Burke has certainly violated this oath.
Pope Francis has given two reasons for taking away Cardinal Burke’s Vatican privileges. The first reason given is that the cardinal was misusing his Vatican privileges against the church by attacking the pope and his authority. Secondly, the pope maintained that, through his actions and statements, the cardinal was sowing disunity in the Catholic Church. The evidence indicates that both charges are accurate and well-founded. The right-wing Catholic supporters of Cardinal Burke are calling Francis’ eviction of Burke from the Vatican an unjust punishment. It is indeed a punishment, but it is one that is well deserved. For the good of the church the pope has a responsibility to speak out against attacks against the church that question the legitimacy of the pope and threaten the very unity of the church. What Catholics should realize is that Francis’ removal of Cardinal Burke’s Vatican privileges leaves the cardinal with no official or unofficial ties to the Vatican. His proclamations and actions do not represent the pope, the Vatican, nor the official teaching authority of the Catholic Church.
November 6, 2023
John R. Connolly, Ph.D.
Emeritus Professor of Theological Studies
Loyola Marymount University
Pope Francis has decided to remove Cardinal Burke’s Vatican privileges which include financial benefits and a rent-free Vatican apartment. The rationale for this decision is rooted in the role that Cardinal Burke himself has chosen to play in the Catholic Church today. Cardinal Burke’s official status in the Catholic Church is that he is a retired cardinal. He holds no official position in the Vatican, nor in the church in the United States. Consequently, he has no jurisdiction to speak as an official representative of the Catholic Church. When he speaks, he is expressing the views of Cardinal Burke and the right-wing Catholics who share and support his views. He has assumed leadership of a right-wing Catholic Movement, particularly in the United States, which is determined to discredit Francis’ papacy and overturn his reform of the church. In this role he is, de facto, functioning as a second pope, or an anti-pope, in the Catholic Church. Cardinal Burke and his right-wing Catholic followers are not just carrying on a friendly conversation with Pope Francis. They are fiercely attacking him with the intention of undoing his papacy and undermining his effort to reform the Catholic Church today according to the teachings of the Second Vatican Council.
In pursuit of their goal of overturning Pope Francis’ reform, Cardinal Burke and his right-wing Catholic supporters have employed various tactics. They have questioned the legitimacy of his papacy, claiming that Pope Benedict never resigned, that Francis is a usurper, or that the chair of Peter is presently vacant, Sedevancantism. They supported fabricated charges against Pope Francis in a failed effort to force him to resign. Many have rejected the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, and some go as far as to deny the validity and legitimacy of the council itself. The tone of their attacks on Pope Francis have often been extremely vicious, unfair, unjust, and mean spirited. Their charges often are based upon false accusations, misinformation, and distorted interpretations of Pope Francis’ positions.
Often, their criticisms of Pope Francis are based upon their own misinterpretations of the church’s actual teachings. They present their own positions, beliefs, and interpretations of the church’s teaching as if they were the official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. These interpretations become the standard by which they judge Francis’ statements, directives, and his proposals to reform the church. Based upon these self-selected criteria they have, on various occasions, called Pope Francis an apostate, a heretic, a schismatic, or all the above. As the leader of the right-wing Catholic Movement, Cardinal Burke has set himself up as a counter magisterium to the official magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church led by Pope Francis. On two occasions Cardinal Burke has sent so called “dubia” to Pope Francis raising questions about the orthodoxy of some of Francis’ teaching and demanding that the pope respond to him. In doing so he is assuming a magisterial role that he does not possess in the Roman Catholic Church. Although Cardinal Burke publicly says that he is not attacking Pope Francis’ efforts to reform the Catholic Church, all the questions he raises in these two “dubia” clearly indicate otherwise.
For the past ten years Pope Francis has been very patient with Cardinal Burke’s attacks upon his papacy and authority. It is possible that the final blow that moved Pope Francis to act against the cardinal was Burke’s convocation of an unsanctioned synod on the eve of the general meeting of the Vatican Synod of Bishops on Synodality. Burke used this occasion to deliver a stinging rebuke against Francis’ vision of synodality and his overall mission to reform the church. Furthermore, through his attacks upon the pope and his authority, Burke has violated the oath he took when he was made a cardinal. Austen Ivereigh points out that a cardinal takes an oath promising obedience “to blessed Peter in the person of the supreme Pontiff.” (Austen Ivereigh, “What Pope Francis said about Cardinal Burke,” Where Peter Is, November 29, 2023). Ivereigh further explains that “Whoever is pope has the charism of authority which Jesus entrusted to the apostle Peter. It is not a matter of personal preference for this or that pope. To undermine, question, and to throw into doubt the legitimacy of the authority of the office of Peter by claiming that its occupant cannot be trusted with that office goes directly against the oath cardinals take.” (Ivereigh, Where Peter Is, November 29, 2023). Cardinal Burke has certainly violated this oath.
Pope Francis has given two reasons for taking away Cardinal Burke’s Vatican privileges. The first reason given is that the cardinal was misusing his Vatican privileges against the church by attacking the pope and his authority. Secondly, the pope maintained that, through his actions and statements, the cardinal was sowing disunity in the Catholic Church. The evidence indicates that both charges are accurate and well-founded. The right-wing Catholic supporters of Cardinal Burke are calling Francis’ eviction of Burke from the Vatican an unjust punishment. It is indeed a punishment, but it is one that is well deserved. For the good of the church the pope has a responsibility to speak out against attacks against the church that question the legitimacy of the pope and threaten the very unity of the church. What Catholics should realize is that Francis’ removal of Cardinal Burke’s Vatican privileges leaves the cardinal with no official or unofficial ties to the Vatican. His proclamations and actions do not represent the pope, the Vatican, nor the official teaching authority of the Catholic Church.
November 6, 2023
John R. Connolly, Ph.D.
Emeritus Professor of Theological Studies
Loyola Marymount University