Another Defense of Archbishop Burke

Robert P. George & Gerard V. Bradley have penned an excellent defense of the actions our good Archbishop took while leading the flock in LaCrosse. The action Archbishop Burke took was the only action he could take given the circumstances. He did his duty as chief shepherd of the diocese.

The bishop said that he acted for two reasons. One was to warn Catholic legislators that their unjust acts were spiritually harmful to them — "a grave sin." The other was to prevent "scandal": that is, weakening the faith and moral resolution of others by one's bad example. Having made every effort to persuade pro-abortion Catholic legislators to fulfill their obligations in justice to the unborn, Bishop Burke articulated the obvious: Any Catholic who exercises political power to expose a disfavored class of human beings to unjust killing sets himself against the very faith he claims to share. The Church cannot permit such a person to pretend to share in the faith he publicly defies. By receiving communion — the sacrament of unity — pro-abortion Catholics are pretending exactly that. The bishop has called a halt to the pretense.

I would certainly like to know if Dr. Hippler has written or is planning to write anything about this yet.