Posted on 08/15/2010 7:00:34 PM PDT by markomalley
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 Council for Legislative Texts, Archbishop Burke is an official authority on canon law.
He maintains that Canon 915 of the current Code of Canon Law must be applied to politicians who profess the Catholic faith while consistently advocating and and acting in favor of legalized abortion. The rule obliges a minister of Holy Communion to deny it to a Catholic whose “persistence in manifest grave sin” separates that individual from full unity with the Church.
The archbishop also stated, prior to the U.S. presidential election in 2004, that Catholics were forbidden to vote for politicians supportive of abortion, unless a “proportionate reason” obliged them to do so for the clear purpose of preventing a greater evil.
Archbishop Burke said in 2004 that it was “difficult to imagine” proportionate reasons more grave than the legality of abortion which would justify such a vote. Catholics are never permitted to cast their vote with the direct intention of supporting increased or continued access to abortion.
More recently, Archbishop Burke directed strong criticism earlier this year against what he called the “public and obstinate betrayal of religious life” by consecrated members of some religious communities and orders. He accused them of defying the apostolic authority of the Church's bishops, by publicly endorsing “legislation containing provisions which violated the natural moral law.”
Those remarks of the Apostolic Signatura's prefect were understood as referring to supporters of recent health care legislation proposed in the Senate. The bill was opposed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, but notably supported by Sister Carol Keenan, CEO of the Catholic Health Association, and the lobbying group of Catholic sisters called NETWORK.
The prefect expressed alarm at instances in which consecrated women had openly defied their bishops: “Was not the Speaker of the House glowing to report that so many religious sisters were in support of her proposed health care plan? Was not a religious sister one of the recipients of a pen used by the President of the United States to sign the health care plan into law?”
Archbishop Burke's interview with Fr. Mitch Pacwa will air on August 18 on EWTN's television and radio stations at 8 p.m. EST, with a rebroadcast on Saturday, August 21 at noon.
I know many so-called fellow Catholics who make this statement regarding abortion, homosexuality, same-sex marriage and reception of the Eucharist outside of a state of grace: “I am Catholic, but I am a reasonable Catholic.”
I only wish that we had a media culture that made men like Archbishop Burke popular heroes instead of athletes, rock stars, and celebri-tards.
Archbishop Burke is awesome. Just the way we need archbishops to be. This is very cool.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.