From war to abuse, Archbishop Burke speaks out

Today, the Post-Dispatch has published an interview with Archbishop Raymond Burke.

"Inside the Vatican," a national Catholic publication, recently named him among the top 10 people of the year, and its editor calls him the "arguably the fastest rising bishop in the U.S. hierarchy." Meanwhile, one of the nation's largest anti-abortion groups recently launched an ad campaign around him."

The Archbishbishop discusses the following:

Consolidation of area parishes and the pain associated with the reorganization,
(He's very aware of the pain this causes and is sympathetic to those affected and he has suffered much because of it as well)

Politicians, abortion, euthanasia, and the dignity of life & the common good,
(He will do the same here if necessary - It's not a policy of his, but he is following Church law.)

The death of his father when he was young, and the importance of his mother, family & faith,
(He has a passion for the education and care of children - this can be seen by the LaCrosse Religious Education curriculum he established)

The sex-abuse scandal,
(He wants to meet with victims and those making allegations, not with SNAP)

Racial tensions in the St. Louis area,
(He feels that this is one of the human difficulties to confront, and probably one of the toughest to deal with.)

His appetite for reading, especially history, biography, philosophy, and theology,
(Right now, he's reading about the life of Bishop DuBourg and the history of the archdiocese)

Gibson's movie, "The Passion of the Christ",
(His response up to this point is positive and he plans to see it sometime during the first week of Lent.)

Just War Theory and the war in Iraq,
(He feels the war would fall under the auspices of the Just War theory-that it was not unjust considering the evil of the regime among other things.)

Catholics and their use of artificial contraception,
(It's an essential part of Catholic teaching, and those preparing for Marriage must understand and accept it)

The homosexual 'marriage' debate,
(He will address the subject because Catholics are asking themselves how the Church view this)

Homosexual orientation and the priesthood,
(Homosexuality is disordered. There is no place in the priesthood for those who are active sexually, either homosexual or heterosexual. Also those with an inclination toward homosexuality should not be admitted to the priesthood.)

The importance of family farms,
(Farming is at the very foundation of our well being in this country)

The Building of a shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe here?
(We have shrines around the area. He'll have to wait and see what the needs are)

All in all, this was a really decent article from the Post-Dispatch. I would recommend that everyone who is interested read it. You have to remember that in the Post, Pro-Life becomes 'anti-abortion', but this is the mindset of the secular media. And Archbishop Burke is truly a man of humiliy.

You can find it here.