Thursday, December 04, 2003

More about Archbishop-elect Raymond Burke

Those of us in the St. Louis archdiocese have much reason to rejoice in the recent appointment of Bishop Raymond Burke as shepherd of our archdiocese. As Bishop of LaCrosse, he sent letters to "Catholic" lawmakers to inform them of their duties of their office with regard not only to the laws of the state, but also with regard to the moral law.

From the article:
La Crosse Bishop Raymond L. Burke sent letters to the lawmakers as the first step in efforts to get them to change their pattern of voting, which Burke said contradicts the church's teachings on abortion and other issues related to human life. On Tuesday, Pope John Paul II appointed Burke to serve as the archbishop of St. Louis.


"If they were to continue to do that, I would simply have to ask them not to present themselves to receive the sacraments because they would not be Catholics in good standing," Burke said in an interview.

However, the same, old, tired argument comes from the "Catholic" politicians, "But I can't let my religion take precedence over my duties as a legislator". These politicians who fail to uphold the moral law by hiding behind these lame statements are no more "Catholic" than this keyboard I'm using - except, that they were baptized at some point in their life.

Holding positions that are contrary to the Church's doctrinal teaching because of ignorance makes one a material heretic. Once one is presented with the Church's teaching, one's persistence in denying that truth makes one a formal heretic. Many of these politicians, because they have been duly informed of the Church's teaching, have chosen instead to become formal heretics and as such they have voluntarily withdrawn from communion with the Church.

Anyway , enough of my rants...read this article about Bishop Burke. We should give thanks that we have been so blessed to have him as our new archbishop!

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