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North American Leaders Bid Farewell to Pro-Life Hero Archbishop Burke

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The Vatican announced today that the Holy Father has appointed Archbishop Raymond Burke to the prestigious position of Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura in Rome. As Archbishop Burke leaves the St. Louis diocese, he is praised by North America’s pro-life leaders as one of the most staunch and courageous defenders of the culture of life that his country has ever seen. 

Judie Brown, the president of the American Life League, spoke glowingly of about the Archbishop, telling LifeSiteNews.com today, “Archbishop Burke’s contributions to the Church go beyond anybody’s imagination. He is among the most courageous bishops that I have known in my entire life.”

Deirdre McQuade, the Assistant Director for Policy & Communications at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, lauded the Archbishop, saying, “In an age of many direct attacks against life, Archbishop Burke has been a strong, clear voice in defense of human dignity – especially with regard to those most at risk every day in this country: the unborn.”

Fr. Euteneuer of Human Life International called Burke a “hero” of the Church in the United States. While Jim Hughes, the vice president of International Right to Life, said of Burke, “He’s one of those churchmen that Canadian pro-lifers pointed to all the time and said, well, we’re looking for leadership, there’s no finer example than Burke.”

“He’s been unequivocally pro-life and not afraid to speak up and tell it like it is. And that’s what we have needed for a long time.”

Burke, who served as a priest in Wisconsin for 20 years before being ordained Bishop of La Crosse in 1995, will now head the Vatican’s highest court, an appointment that is expected to come with a cardinal’s hat.

While the pro-life movement in North America will miss Burke’s presence, the leaders of the pro-life movement said they are pleased with Burke’s new appointment, which will give him a wider influence in the global Church.

“I think it’s a wonderful thing for the Church,” said Hughes. “It’s a temporary loss for the United States and people in North America that have come to appreciate his leadership. But the role that he will play in the Vatican is going to affect much more than just the United States. So I’m very happy for him. It’s a good appointment, a powerful appointment in my opinion.”

Since his appointment as Archbishop of St. Louis in 2003, Burke has courageously spoken out against all attacks on the culture of life.  He has served the Church in St. Louis admirably, acting as a model not only for bishops, but all Catholics alike.

Burke has been at the centre of numerous controversies for his uncompromising application of the Church’s teachings. Judie Brown recollected how, in 2004, during the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, he publicly spoke out against pro-abortion politicians receiving Holy Communion, saying he would deny John Kerry the sacrament. “He was the first bishop to publicly announce that he was going to enforce Canon law 915 and deny Holy Communion to pro-abortion Catholic politicians,” said Brown.

Fr. Euteneuer, on the other hand, said that one of the most memorable examples of Burke’s leadership came in 2007, when the Archbishop resigned from the board of a Catholic charity after they booked pro-abortion singer Sheryl Crow for a benefit concert.  Jim Hughes highlighted how the Archbishop stood firmly against embryonic stem cell research in the US. “I think he played a forefront role in the whole thing, working like heck. He was tremendous in that,” said Hughes.

In 2008 Burke made headlines by invoking the Catholic University of St. Louis to discipline an employee for publicly announcing his support for abortion and embryonic stem cell research.

These are only a few examples of how the Archbishop truly led his flock by example and explain why many pro-life leaders throughout North America are bidding him a heartfelt farewell.

Judie Brown told LifeSiteNews.com that the Archbishop stood out as a leader for having “truly catechized the people entrusted to him by teaching them the truth about what Humanae Vitae teaches, the truth about what the Church has to say about abortion, the sanctity, the dignity of human life. He has been a forceful advocate for the pro-life cause everywhere he’s been. And always with a tremendous amount of compassion.”

“He’s never been harsh in his statements,” she said, “He’s never been judgmental. He’s always been compassionate, yet firm in the faith.”

When Brown was asked what in particular she thought made the Archbishop such a extraordinary bishop, she responded, “His openness to grace made him great. His devotion to the Lord in the Eucharist made him great. And his imitation of Christ – I mean, in every aspect of his life, and I know him quite well – he is simply, and purely a priest.”

Brown concluded, saying, “[Archbishop Burke] is one of the most loving, humble, holy men I’ve ever met in my life, and he will be sorely missed. But we know that great things will come of this move, even though we are heartbroken.”

“Every time LifeSiteNews has encountered the Archbishop”, says Steve Jalsevac, “we have been taken aback by his always gentle and humble character. Before I actually met Archbishop Burke in person I had this media image of a sort of Catholic bulldog, but he is not like that at all.”

When asked what she had to say to Archbishop Burke as he goes to his new post in Rome, Deirdre McQuade of the USCCB responded, “Your wise and courageous presence will be deeply missed on the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Affairs. Be assured of our prayers as you assume your new post serving the universal Church in Rome.”

Brown concurred, saying, “We wish Archbishop Burke every great grace that is due him.”

Comments

5 responses to “North American Leaders Bid Farewell to Pro-Life Hero Archbishop Burke”

  1. mac286 Avatar
    mac286

    This is a bit bittersweet. Bishop Burke was one of the few American Bishops who had the courage to stand firm on the teachings of the Church. America really needs him and others like him. Unfortunately, we are stuck with Bishop Weurl and the rest of the complacent USCCB Bishops.

  2. sillyfuzz Avatar
    sillyfuzz

    Archbishop Burke is a model for all Bishops to emulate. His couarge with mercy is extraordinary!

  3. Doria2 Avatar
    Doria2

    Bittersweet is a huge understatment Mac – this is a disaster for the Church in America where we have become a catechetical wasteland. We need Archbishop Burke and more people like him. I’m flabergasted. AndyP/Doria2 Yonkers, NY
    Hosea 4:6

  4. DonHudzinski Avatar
    DonHudzinski

    I think he will serve this country were every he is, we have not seen the last of Burke. And for all of you who thinks so, think again because he will now being giving rulings to USCCB.

    Rulings I think they will observe because of his strength with the catholics of this country.

  5. HomeschoolNfpDad Avatar
    HomeschoolNfpDad

    We should, perhaps, speak with a bit more precision when talking of the USCCB. USCCB was formed by combining the National Catholic Conference – which largely consisted of laity – with the National Conference of Catholic Bishops – which was the body of U.S. bishops plus their religious and lay assistants. As an organization per se, it has much to commend it: bishops and laity working together as a public body to address the needs of the U.S. Church. But there are two major traps built into this organization, and the USCCB seems routinely to fall into both of them.
    The first trap is that the bishops within the USCCB generally do not constitute themselves as a synod of the U.S. bishops. Now synod is a highly technical term. Newadvent.org defines it as “[a] general term for ecclesiastical gatherings under hierarchical authority, for the discussion and decision of matters relating to faith, morals, or discipline.” Now, most of the gatherings of the bishops under the auspices of the USCCB are not gatherings under a formal hierarchical authority – or at least they do not seem to be. Moreover, given the propensity for delegating authority individual Bishops for decisions pertaining to faith, morals, and discipline (e.g. each bishop will decide whether and how to withhold Communion from Catholics who publicly support abortion), these gatherings seem focused on everything but issues of faith, morals, and discipline. I say this notwithstanding the many excellent teaching documents that the bishops’ meetings produce (and they are all, or almost all, quite excellent). Thus, the problem here is one of form: the bishops seem reluctant to declare their gathering as an official American synod – and not, perhaps, without good reason, given the extreme (and extremist) media circus such a gathering would bring about. Nevertheless, this form matters, and its lack deprives the U.S. bishops and their many excellent teachings of their potential for universal force in the U.S. Church. But this is just one of the problems into which the USCCB has fallen.
    The other problem is the propensity of laity within the USCCB to speak as if the bishops themselves were speaking. One immediately calls to mind the shenanigans surrounding the USCCB’s initial endorsement of the anti-Catholic film, The Golden Compass. Many (probably most) Catholics who actually take the time to read the writing published by the USCCB probably assume that all of them have been approved explicitly by the bishops – or at least have been reviewed and found acceptable by at least one of them. Now, they might think of this as a simple endorsement of the Church or in some other descriptive context. But what is the endorsement of the Church if not the approval of the Magisterium – or at least of one or more bishops who know the content of a published work (even if it is a mere movie review), acknowledge that content explicitly, and then approve it as not in opposition to the teaching of the Church (i.e. nihil obstat) and worthy of publication (i.e. imprimatur). Again, very few Catholics think in these terms, but if the Church publishes it on their (i.e. the USCCB’s) web site, such (i.e. nihil obstat and imprimatur) is the implication. But we have already seen (in problem #1, above) that not even the writings of the bishops themselves carry the weight that they might if the gathering of bishops that produced them were to openly declare itself as a synod of U.S. bishops. So how can anything the laity might say carry that weight? But absent decisive proof to the contrary (and very few U.S. Catholics even consider that such proof is necessary, much less actually look for it), even the published writings of the laity are assumed to be the explicit teaching of the bishops themselves.
    I never saw Archbishop Burke explicitly put down one of the teachings that came from a gathering of bishops under the auspices of the USCCB. He simply – and meekly, I might add – applied the teaching of the Church in his diocese as it pertained to faith and morals. He did question a few of the questionable lay-authored writings published by the USCCB (I think he was one of the bishops who publicly asked why The Golden Compass had received such a glowing review by the USCCB). That is what will be missed: the simple and humble clarity pertaining to the teaching of the Church and the obligation of the entire Body of Christ to accept it, live it, and evangelize others with it.

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