Hardworking Wisconsin bishop follows Vatican policies precisely

St. Louis Post-Dispatch ^ | December 2, 2003 | Patricia Rice

[Desdemona]

The Wisconsin bishop who will become the archbishop of St. Louis next month is a staunch conservative who is expected to carry out most of the initiatives Cardinal Justin F. Rigali introduced during the past nine years.

Archbishop-elect Raymond L. Burke, 55, has been the bishop of La Crosse, Wis., for the last nine years. The Vatican announced Tuesday that Burke will succeed Rigali, who moved to Philadelphia in October as its archbishop and a cardinal.

[RobbyS]

Sounds like a winner.

[Unam Sanctam]

"With the liturgy, he is very concerned about reverence and order. And you can expect that, on the moral issues, he will be teaching and affirming the church on such things as abortion and contraception."

We need more bishops like this.

[Desdemona]

I'm crossing my fingers that Burke is a bit more visible than Rigali was. One of the things I'm afraid of is that among the Catholic high schools here (at least 25, currently), only 7 are archdiocesan. The rest are run by orders and the administrations are very loyal to the orders, moreso than the archdiocese. That's going to be a problem.

The other thing that will be interesting is "liturgy". The Jesuits got their start here and there's a great pride in that. We'll see. Just the Tabernacles moving to the foot of the Crucifix was an ordeal. I can just imagine what would happen if the OCP books were banned.

[lrslattery]

Many are hoping that he will be, as you say, "more visible". I hope that he will be more attentive to liturgical issues, catechesis, and vocations.

As far as OCP is concerned, it would certainly be nice to see them dropped completely from the archdiocese. What a load of trash these things are.

[Desdemona]

Vocations are actually in good shape. I counted the seminarians and there's over 50 right now. That's pretty good, actually.

Catechesis would be good and a greater uniformity of the PSR programs. Not all parishes have them and that should be remedied. Life Teen needs to be eliminated. A number of parishes have Liturgy of the Word for children, a concept I've never liked.

Mass...that's going to be a battle and a half since the abuses have been going on for as long as I can remember. Just getting Eucharistic Adoration going was a battle. There will be quite a bit of noise from the peanut galleries, too.

Watching the revolutionaries squirm is going to be priceless. I can't wait.

[lrslattery]

Watching the revolutionaries squirm is going to be priceless. I can't wait.

I, too, am looking so forward to this! I can almost hear the "wailing and gnashing of teeth" coming from the "progressive" parishes now.

From what I read on the diocesan website, Bishop Burke wrote several articles on proper liturgical practices. And I'm confident that with priests like Eugene Morris and others, we may be have turned the corner on seeing the myriad of liturgical abuses reduced and eliminated.

We may actually have a chance now to have the TLM in St Charles county.

[Desdemona]

Gene Morris is on the bishop track. He's a great guy, too.

I'm sort of hoping Burke leaves St. Cronin's open just to keep all those people out of everyone else's hair.

[lrslattery]

You know, we were "fortunate" enough to have St. Cronan's current pastor as our senior associate pastor for a while. What a character...I had no idea that St. Cronan's was so far out there until I started reading some of their bulletins and other publications.

I am really curious to see how he (Bishop Burke) will try to bring these lost sheep back to the fold.

[Desdemona]

What's really scary is that there are a lot of St. Cronan's people who teach in the high schools. IT's part of the reason I worry about them.

[lrslattery]

What's really scary is that there are a lot of St. Cronan's people who teach in the high schools. IT's part of the reason I worry about them.

That's just great!! It's a shame that there is no oath of fidelity or mandatum required for those who "teach" the mst impressionable. It does little good to require orthodoxy at the college level if children have been led far away from the fullness of the truth during their formative years.

There was an article recently on the deplorable status of high school catechetical texts. Surely you saw it. I had something on it here.

I guess one of these days I may need to make a trip to St Cronan's.....naw, I really don't think I could take it.

[Desdemona]

You didn't know about that? A lot of them are theology teachers too.

I heard there was a big fire in McRee Town last night. As if that neighborhood needed to look more bombed out.

[lrslattery]

You didn't know about that? A lot of them are theology teachers too.

Great...Honestly, I did not know about this. Really, it's quite sad if what it being taught emcompasses what they espouse rather than what the Church teaches - but I'm willing to bet they've been "touched" by the spirit of VII.

I heard there was a big fire in McRee Town last night. As if that neighborhood needed to look more bombed out.

I thought I heard something on the news this morning about that, was too groggy to really hear what happened.

[Desdemona]

I looked on the Post's website and it looks like four buildings were set on fire in the part that the garden is working to renovate.

Believe me when I tell you that the Catholic high schools are not teaching anything resembling real catechesis or theology. I've learned more in the last year than I did in four years of HS.

[Maximilian]

Congratulations. Burke seems to be about the best of the bunch.

Here is a picture of Bishop Burke consecrating the new Latin Mass Oratory in Wausau, WI run by the Institute of Christ the King. The priest on his right is Fr. Hellman, a really great, dynamic and inspiring young priest.

[Flying Circus]

It sounds like St Louis is getting an excellent and active bishop. Thank God. As good as Regali was, my experience has suggested there is need for a lot of discipline in the archdiocese.

[Desdemona]

As good as Regali was, my experience has suggested there is need for a lot of discipline in the archdiocese.

After Carberry and May, yes. The revolutionaries walked all over them. I guess the people thought they deserved to do so after Ritter, who was a great cardinal.

I think this is just a stop on the larger journey for Burke. He could straighten out a few abuses while he's here, though.