Washington Post Rehashes Cristicism of Archbishop Burke

One can certainly tell where the article is headed by the headline and the first paragraph:

St. Louis Prelate Aims to Bring Flock in Line
Burke Takes Firm Stance on Social Issues

ST. LOUIS -- When it comes to expressing his views of church values, Roman Catholic Archbishop Raymond Burke has a habit of making headlines, not always to the satisfaction of his flock.

The writer if this piece, Peter Slevin, gets it wrong from the outset - the faithful of St Louis could not be more pleased and relieved that we have a bishop who teaches what the Church teaches and who reminds us how we should live our lives for Christ even when the world opposes Him and His Church.

Slevin then goes on to remind his readers of Archbishop Burke's "headline making" actions such as his position on John Kerry and his receiving of Holy Communion, the Sheryl Crow incident, and the Claire McCaskill speaking engagement at a local Catholic school.

At a time when significant segments of the Catholic population are breaking with the church on such issues as embryonic stem cell research and abortion, Burke is adhering to Vatican orthodoxy endorsed by Pope Benedict XVI -- and he expects the same of all Catholics in his archdiocese.

Those who wish to claim fellowship with Christ are to follow Him by manifesting fidelity, not only to Him, but also to His Church.

Burke's decisions -- and their very public nature -- have roiled the church in St. Louis, home to more than 500,000 Catholics. While some praise Burke for firmness in an era of moral laxity, others complain that the church under his direction seems out of touch.

Faithful Catholics do, indeed, praise him for his leadership - he follows the example of the Good Shepherd, who is willing to lay down his life for his sheep. Some other bishops seem more concerned about human respect than they do about feeding and tending the sheep. Those Catholics who complain about the Archbishop and the Church are, at the very least, confused and poorly catechized. Years of defective faith formation have left them vulnerable to the lies and deceits of the world.

Burke "has relatively little concern for, let's say, negative reaction," said James Hitchcock, a professor at Saint Louis University who writes for the diocesan press and calls Burke "a very humble man in his personal life."

"He sees himself as being obliged to do what he thinks is the right thing, and he's not too concerned with strategy or how he might finesse the thing," Hitchcock said. "There are quite obviously deep divisions within the church. Archbishop Burke is one bishop who has chosen to confront them directly, as opposed to other bishops who may prefer to minimize them."

Dr Hitchcock provides a clear picture to the readers. And St Louis Catholics should be thankful to Almighty God that they have been blessed with such a faithful shepherd.

The writer then proceeds to quote a number of people who claim (or claimed) to be Catholic but whose embarrassing words and actions demonstrate that they choose to reject Christ and His Church, because, it seems, of the clear and unambiguous teachings which have been repeated by Archbishop Burke.

The bishop's determination to challenge Catholic public figures was clear in his previous post, as bishop of La Crosse, Wis. Among those he contacted was Rep. David R. Obey, a long-serving Wisconsin Democrat, who traded letters with Burke after the bishop privately voiced unhappiness with Obey's votes on abortion-related issues.

Wisconsin voters should be ashamed that they have elected Obey - a man who rejects even the most basic rights and protections to the weakest among us, the unborn.

The leaders of St. Stanislaus Kostka church know Burke's wrath. They ran afoul of the archbishop by insisting that their property remain independent of diocesan control, as it has for decades. Burke responded by evicting the church from the diocese and excommunicating the parish leadership, which has appealed the decision to Rome.

Slevin must have gotten his "facts" from the rebels at St Stanislaus. Otherwise he would not have used the word "wrath." Nor did he "evict" the parish from the archdiocese - he suppressed the parish because of its leadership's schismatic actions.

Of course, Marek Bozek, the hired "priest" who has no faculties, has no qualms showing his ignorance by allowing himself to be quoted:

"From his point of view, we are nonexistent," said the Rev. Marek Bozek, the church's pastor. "I find it wrong to perceive the world in white and black colors only. Unfortunately, he does. And we are wondering why the church is losing its people?"

Bozek, clueless when it concerns the reality of life, especially eternal life, insinuates that gray is a color worthy of Catholics. Gray is the area of error and sin which Catholics enter after stepping out of the light of truth - right before going into the darkness of spiritual death.

And with the failure of so many priests and bishops to proclaim the truth, does one really expect the people to stay? Especially if they have no firm foundation in the faith? And Bozek proudly shares in leading others away from the Church and from Christ.

"From the purely pastoral point of view, it's been nothing but good for us," Bozek said. "It has revitalized the parish. We are growing because people can't stand this any longer."

Bozek, in a typical schismatic fashion stimulated by a self indulgent pride, fails to understand that numbers do not make a "revitalized" parish, unless all are committed and obedient to Christ and the Church He founded...What he sees at St Stanislaus is congregationalism fueled by a love of self and enmity toward Archbishop Burke, which can only lead to a rejection of Christ and the Church He founded.

As always, all of these people who oppose Archbishop Burke and who reject the teachings of the Church need our prayers for their conversion. And let us not fail to pray daily for Archbishop Burke.