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When Catholics approach Cardinal Raymond L. Burke to express their concerns about evidence of decay in society and the Church, he urges them to “deepen their understanding of the constant teaching and discipline of the Church” and to make their voices heard by Church leaders.In a May 7 talk addressing the “Rome Life Forum” sponsored by the group Voice of the Family, Cardinal Burke, patron of the Order of Malta, acknowledged concerns about possible confusion in the Church on fundamental dogmatic and moral truths, and said bishops need to “understand the urgent need to announce again with clarity and courage...

I wish someone would exile me the way Pope Francis exiled Cardinal Burke.When I think of exile or banishment, I think of tiny islands.Where friends are few and far between.The Associated Press described Cardinal Burke’s new position as “largely ceremonial” and said the Knights of Malta are a “charity” who provide “residences for the elderly.”Oh, really?Because last time I checked, the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta (their full name) was the world’s oldest surviving order of chivalry boasting over 13,000 members (knights and dames), 80,000 permanent volunteers and 20,000 personnel.The Knights...

Many Catholics today have “a strong sense that the Church is like a ship without a helm,” Cardinal Raymond Burke said in an interview with a Spanish publication. The American cardinal, who has become a focal point for the concerns of conservative Catholics, told Vida Nueva that many people have spoken to him about their fears for the direction of the Church. “They are feeling a bit seasick because they feel the Church’s ship has lost its bearings,” he said. Cardinal Burke stressed that “I do not wish it to seem like I am speaking out against the Pope.” Rather,...

---- ROME, August 4, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Top officials at the Vatican are throwing their support behind pro-life Catholic leaders campaigning against dioceses allowing pro-abortion politicians receive Holy Communion, says one such leader. American Life League President Judie Brown spoke with LifeSiteNews yesterday about her recent trip to Rome, where she spoke with Vatican officials about Communion for pro-abortion politicians and the changing pro-life landscape in America.  Cardinal Raymond Burke told Brown to be “persistent” in her campaign to have Canon 915 enforced, she said. Canon 915 states: “Those upon whom the penalty of excommunication or interdict has been imposed...

Archbishop Donald Wuerl / Archbishop Raymond Burke Rome, Italy, Oct 20, 2010 / 01:14 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The two new American cardinal-designates are men of the Church with impressive pastoral pedigrees but decidedly different pastoral styles. Pope Benedict XVI’s Oct. 20 selection of Archbishops Raymond L. Burke and Donald D. Wuerl had been widely predicted by Vatican analysts. Archbishop Wuerl is the head of the Church in the nation’s capital, a position that traditionally has earned a cardinal’s rank. Archbishop Burke is the head of the most important tribunal in the Vatican, the Apostolic Signatura, the Church’s supreme court. ...

Pope Benedict XVI Vatican City, Oct 20, 2010 / 10:29 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI named two dozen new cardinals, including two from the United States: Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, a top Vatican official, and Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl of Washington. The new cardinals will be installed in a special consistory to be held at the Vatican, Nov. 20. The Pope made his announcement Oct. 20 at the conclusion of his weekly Wednesday general audience. “The universality of the church is reflected in the list of new cardinals,” he said. More than a dozen countries are represented by...

Next Wednesday, August 18, EWTN viewers can see an exclusive interview with the outspoken and headline-making American archbishop whose current duties in the Church have been compared to a “chief justice” of the “Vatican's supreme court.” Archbishop Raymond Burke, prefect of the Apostolic Signatura in Rome, will appear on EWTN Live with the program's host Fr. Mitch Pacwa, to discuss issues in the Church and society, including matters the archbishop believes are fundamental to a “culture of life.” The archbishop has been outspoken in his criticism of Catholics, particularly politicians, who advocate legalized abortion. As a member of the Pontifical...

Archbishop Burke Appointed to Congregation for Bishops Posted by Edward Pentin Monday, October 19, 2009 8:39 AM Pope Benedict XVI Oct. 17 appointed Archbishop Raymond Burke, prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, and Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, members of the Congregation for Bishops. The appointments are significant: Both will now be able to share their views and, to some extent, exert their influence on future appointments of bishops. Archbishop Burke, the archbishop emeritus of St. Louis and a distinguished canon lawyer, is also a member of two other...

Archbishop Raymond Burke, prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, has offered the first solemn High Mass in the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite in St. Peter’s Basilica since the promulgation of the ordinary form four decades ago. The Pontifical Mass took place in the Chapel of the Most Holy Sacrament. Ordained to the priesthood in 1975, the 61-year-old prelate was ordained Bishop of La Crosse (Wisconsin) in 1995 and installed as Archbishop of St. Louis in 2004. Pope Benedict appointed him to his present position in June 2008.

As the Holy See remains open for business on Saturdays, weekend news is always a possibility on the beat... and a move this morning will likely garner no shortage of reaction in church circles, and from all sides at that. Earlier today, B16 named the church's "chief justice" Archbishop Raymond Burke to the membership of the Congregation for Bishops, giving the 61 year-old prelate a seat at the dicastery's all-important Thursday Table, whose votes recommend prospective appointees to the Pope. As a result, Burke's impact on the process and its outcomes could extend for two decades; normally renewed on...

Archbishop Burke is on EWTN right now. If you don't get it on cable, you can stream (including via dialup) via http://www.ewtn.com

The elevation of Joseph Ratzinger to Pope Benedict XVI has brought a new assertiveness to the Roman Catholic Church, especially at the intersection of politics and life issues. The new prefect of the Vatican Supreme Court, the former Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis, warned in an interview with an Italian newspaper that the Democratic Party is well on its way to becoming the “party of death” in the United States. Burke called for greater discipline within the American church for holding Catholic politicians accountable for their actions: Vatican officials seldom single out political leaders who differ with the Church...

At this point, the Democratic Party risks transforming itself definitively into a "party of death" due to its choices on bioethical issues, as Ramesh Ponnuru wrote in his book "The Party of Death: The Democrats, the Media, the Courts and the Disregard for Human Life."And I say this with a heavy heart, because we all know that the Democrats were the party that helped our Catholic immigrant parents and grandparents to better integrate into and prosper in American society. But it's not the same anymore.Nonetheless, there are among Democrats some pro-lifers, but they are, unfortunately, rare.

Yes, it's true. Yet another decree of excommunication was published in the St. Louis Review today. This time it is a decree against Stanley Rozanski and Bronsalaa (Bernice) Krauze, members of the Board of the Polish St. Stanislaus Kostka Corporation. For some reason that I cannot fathom, it does not yet appear on the Review's website. Therefore, I will try to summarize and publish excerpts from the decree for the benefit of readers. In censure and content, it is similar to the decree issued concerning the "womenpriests" as it relates to the schism finding. The Archbishop begins by recalling...

St. Louis basketball coach Rick Majerus had no intention of creating such a firestorm when he made an appearance at a Hillary Clinton rally last Saturday night in St. Louis and answered questions regarding his pro-choice, pro-embryonic stem-cell research beliefs for a local TV affiliate. Three days later, Archbishop Raymond Burke of the St. Louis diocese, who is very active in the pro-life movement and recently attended the March for Life conference in Washington, D.C., drew a line in the sand in response. Burke said St. Louis University, which is a university operated by the Jesuit fathers, should discipline Majerus...

Archbishop Raymond Burke  Other Articles by Archbishop Raymond BurkePrinter Friendly Version   Celebrating Christ’s Advent November 24, 2007 IntroductionOn Sunday, December 2nd next, we begin our annual observance of the Season of Advent. During the Season of Advent, the Church draws our attention to the most fundamental reality of our life: eternal salvation in Jesus Christ. Advent draws our minds and hearts to the truth that God the Son has been made man, has taken our human nature, in order: 1) to save us from our sins and their fruit, eternal death; and 2)to win for us the inheritance...

Archbishop Raymond Burke  Other Articles by Archbishop Raymond BurkePrinter Friendly Version   Thanksgiving Day and the Royal Heart of Jesus November 17, 2007 Next week, we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, one of the principal holidays of the year and a time for families to gather in celebration. Although Thanksgiving Day is a civic holiday, it was religious in its origins and remains for us always a religious celebration. Even as the Pilgrims desired to give thanks to God for the first harvest brought home in their new-found land, we want to give thanks to God for all of his many...

ST. LOUIS: Two women who made Roman Catholic religious history say they are ready to be the new face of the priesthood, even as Archbishop Raymond Burke moved to formally penalize them for violating church law.Rose Marie Dunn Hudson, 67, and Elsie Hainz McGrath, 69, were ordained Sunday as Roman Catholic Womenpriests, a reform movement begun in 2002.The movement defies church doctrine that reserves ordination of priests and deacons to only men as unjust and discriminatory."After all these years, it's a great feeling to be a priest," Hudson said Monday.She and McGrath will co-pastor a faith community starting Dec. 1...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A former Catholic cardinal and a leading pro-abortion "Catholic" group have blasted comments by St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke who said he would deny communion to Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani because of his position favoring abortion. Earlier this month, Burke said he would deny communion to Giuliani. "If the question is about a Catholic who is publicly espousing positions contrary to the moral law, and I know that person knows it, yes I would [deny communion]," Burke told the St. Louis Post Dispatch. He said anyone who administers Catholic communion can't knowingly give it to...