"Defenders of Archbishop Burke" Issue Press Release

This was forwarded to me today:

April 25, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bill McKenzie, coordinator the Defenders of Archbishop Burke released the following statement today in support of Archbishop Burke's decision to resign as Chairman of the Board of the Cardinal Glennon Children's Foundation and encourage Catholics not to attend the benefit on Friday, April 28:

"Once again Archbishop Burke has courageously and correctly fulfilled the responsibilities of his position in the face of a particularly difficult controversy that will surely leave him open to criticism from anti-Catholics and those who do not understand the duties of a Catholic shepherd.

"The Board of Governors of the Cardinal Glennon Children’s Foundation, in rejecting Archbishop Burke's pastoral guidance and deciding to retain their invitation to Sheryl Crow to perform at the Bob Costas Benefit for the SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center had a choice between fidelity to God or human respect. They chose human respect.

"At a time when 4000 innocent lives are taken every day in our country by abortion, and millions more stand to be sacrificed through embryonic stem cell research, the Mayberry-like innocence of the board is simply irresponsible. The fact is that the Catholic Church is locked in an implacable struggle in this country with the forces of hell. For a Catholic, or a Catholic institution to ignore this is very odd. Apparently the board members just don't get it.

"The 400+ members of the Defenders of Archbishop Burke are fully in support of our beloved Archbishop. We pray for him, the members of the Board of Governors of the Cardinal Glennon Children’s Foundation, Sheryl Crow and the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of St. Louis."

I also received this email which accompanied the Press Release:

Tuesday, April 25, 2007

Archbishop Burke resigned today as Chairman of the Board of the Cardinal Glennon Children's Foundation, a fundraising organization for the children's medical center. He took this step because the foundation has arranged for singer Sheryl Crow to perform at this Friday's benefit. Sheryl Crow has publicly promoted abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research, most notably as a proponent of Amendment 2 in the November Missouri election.

The Defenders of Archbishop Burke has refrained from any public statements or membership notification for over six months out of deference to the Archbishop's wishes that he be allowed to fight his own battles. This despite his often-stated appreciation for our support during the St. Stanislaus controversy.

I believe however that we will see a recurrence of some of the earlier insults and harsh criticism of the archbishop in the aftermath of his statement today.

When the St. Stanislaus affair took place there was no Defenders of Archbishop Burke. It took us several months to take action but once we did the tenor of the debate moderated considerably.

Therefore I am writing you today to encourage you to be prepared to defend the Archbishop tomorrow and in the days to come. There will be accusations in the workplace, the home, the stores, even in our parishes. The worst thing we can do is be silent as we were before.

We do not have to make eloquent statements, but we must leave no doubt that we support the Archbishop's actions. Think of this as an election. If more voices of criticism are heard than voices of support, the enemies of the Church will be emboldened. If we speak up to defend our shepherd the anti-Catholics will be more subdued. This will help the Church, the overall attitudes of St. Louisans, especially St. Louis Catholics and of course our beloved Archbishop Burke.

I believe that the Archbishop is fully in the right. I am thrilled to have such a courageous man as our leader. I believe that if all of our bishops were as conscientious as Archbishop Burke in fulfilling their responsibilities, the Catholic Church would be a much stronger voice for morality in America than it is today.

To hear the archbishop's statement and see more material explaining this decision please go to http://www.archstl.org/commoffice/2007/cgcmc.html

In an effort to support the archbishop from the earliest days of this controversy I am releasing the following statement to the press immediately: (Ed. Note: Shown above)

God bless,
– Bill McKenzie
Defenders of Archbishop Burke
(Not affiliated with the Archdiocese of St. Louis)

HT to Howard for the info...