The St Louis Post Dispatch Editorial Criticizes Abp. Burke and the Church

One wonders if too much time has passed since the last criticisms of Archbishop Burke by the Post Dispatch?

The newest editorial can be viewed here.

One should know what the editor intends to do by his very first sentence which reads:

AMERICA HAS ALWAYS been a difficult fit for the Roman Catholic Church.

But let us continue to see where he wants to lead us:

Here is a country founded by Protestant sectarians who thought the Anglican church was a little too Roman, a country where religious pluralism is the law and individual rights are celebrated. Then there's the Church of Rome, the hierarchical "one true faith" where priests stand between God and man.
Now comes Raymond L. Burke, archbishop of St. Louis, to suggest that America's "hedonistic culture" — the individual pursuit of pleasure — is the most significant cause of the church's priest sexual abuse crisis. Bombarded by permissiveness, some priests not only ignore their vows of celibacy, but the laws governing the sexual abuse of children.

I have yet to see the source of this "quote", other than in the post referenced here. The article did not "quote" Archbishop Burke directly as saying this, but it is what we are led to believe when Aisha Sultan states:

Archbishop Raymond Burke blamed society's "hedonistic culture" as the most significant cause of sexual abuse within the church, while discussing two national reports released Friday that examine the scope and nature of the problem.

It appears to be a quite a stretch for the Post to editorialize on this unless some DIRECT quotes are given. Are we to accept what the Aisha Sultan says without some evidence or additional source material?

There is one and only one direct quote of the Archbishop in the original column, and it does not appear to support the claims of Aisha Sultan. But that's not all. In the newest attack, we continue by reading this:

Archbishop Burke has argued that the sex abuse crisis — and indeed, most of the church's problems — can be solved with return to traditional teachings.

Yes, what Archbishop Burke is saying is that a great number of the problems in the Church can be resolved by a return to : proper catechesis, fidelity to the Church's teachings, proper spritual development, a good prayer life, repentance for one's sins and transgressions, etc....But no, the Post disregards that, and like so many "Cafeteria" Catholics, believe the following, as they continue:

Conservatives, Archbishop Burke among them, were more comfortable when there was no such thing as "primacy of conscience" for Catholics. You went to Mass on Sunday, made your Easter obligation, ate fish on Friday, sent your kids (of which you had a lot, because the Rhythm Method didn't work) to the nuns for education and — this above all — obeyed the priest.

Apparently "primacy of conscience" for the Post Dispatch has nothing to do with whether one's conscience is properly formed or not....A person with a malformed conscience is, evidently, just as capable of making a proper and right moral decision as one who can clearly distinguish between right and wrong (one with a properly formed conscience).

It's shame we are unable to determine who wrote the article. It sounds to me as if our Lord may be testing the writer's conscience a bit...As the writer of the editorial says:

Blaming things on "the culture" won't help. Accepting responsibility might.

From what I read and heard, the Bishop stated the influence of the culture is a factor in development of an individual, but I don't see where he lays 'blame' on the culture itself. But that aside, does Archbishop Burke need to accept responsibility for the actions or inactions of others?

We need to pray more often and with greater urgency for our "hedonistic culture" and for those who seek so much satisfaction from it!