Some are thankful for Burke's tenure, others for his departure----------
07/05/2008Guiding the flock
Archbishop Raymond Burke was given to the Archdiocese of St. Louis to be our "mother." It is his mission and duty, as the leader of Jesus' flock, to guide us, to show us the way, to admonish us as a caring mother would so that we would not be led astray. The archbishop takes his mission seriously.
As the leader of the church in St. Louis, Archbishop Burke was given the task to see that his diocese followed the laws of the church regarding church property (whether it be ownership or closing of schools and churches to financially stabilize and allow merging for the betterment of educating our young), women as priests, a coach's witness to the life of the unborn or a board member's responsibility to witness our Catholic faith. When he speaks or acts, he is doing what every good shepherd must do: call the astray sheep back to the flock, always reiterating the necessity to be a follower of Jesus, our good shepherd.
We are proud to be members of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. When I see the increasing numbers of good and holy seminarians serving in various roles in our parishes, our hope in our church grows.
Thank you, Archbishop Burke, for guiding us as a mother would do. You are the church; we are the church. We need your example to guide us. God bless you always.
Ron and Kay Reiter | Festus
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The editorial "The true believer" (June 29) was a very fair, even-handed description of Archbishop Raymond Burke's tenure here — until, that is, the last paragraph.
Could the Post-Dispatch explain to its readers how repeating in print an unfounded accusation from an organization — the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, which owes its very existence to perpetuating the priest sex-abuse scandals of yesteryear — qualifies as "opinion"? If the accusation was credible, presumably the paper would have checked it and printed it as a "news" article in addition to the editorial. In the absence of any supporting evidence to support SNAP's claim that was printed in the editorial, the Post-Dispatch owes the archbishop and all Catholics an apology, without delay.
The archbishop is a good and decent man who has committed his life to teaching the faith without apology and without compromise. The paper's willingness to sink to this level of smear tactics is an attempt to discredit the Catholic Church for standing up to the prevailing cultural winds of license and immorality. As far as the accusation today: Put up or shut up, p1ease.
Ed Murphy | Oakville
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I will miss Archbishop Raymond Burke's shining example of humility, holiness and moral clarity, along with his efforts to articulate and defend the truths of the Catholic faith. Although having maligned and berated the good archbishop even prior to his arrival here, it appeared the Post-Dispatch, surprisingly, was coming around to my way of thinking, with the editorial "The true believer" (June 29) praising him for adhering to Catholic truths on important and difficult controversies presented during his tenure.
Then out came the knife! While the St. Louis Archdiocese has become a model for handling the priest abuse scandal with its zero-tolerance "Protecting God's Children" program, the editorial gratuitously dangles unsubstantiated allegations about "welcoming pedophile priests" (something the archbishop never would do). Not only was this disingenuous, but it also was downright cruel. And, sadly, the Post-Dispatch was par for the course.
Sandra Y. Smith | Des Peres
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"The true believer" (June 29) was right on target concerning Archbishop Raymond Burke's position as he led the St. Louis Archdiocese. We do not get a vote, nor does the Post-Dispatch, on whether he was right or wrong. The teachings of the church as they were established "always were and always will be the same."
Yes, the accused pedophiles need to have their day in court and be held accountable if proven true. Why would the paper choose to quote and agree with the statement released by the SNAP? Why hasn't the paper published such a list? Perhaps because it cannot be verified.
Carol Lemp | O'Fallon, Mo.
The editorial "The true believer" was as ambiguous as it was mistaken. Though it sought a detached neutrality regarding judgments about Archbishop Raymond Burke, it made several critiques on St. Louis' now-former archbishop. One was that he is more savvy as a scholar than as pastoral leader. If so, why did he leave a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops a day early to, among other things, present to the Green Goblins, a group of eighth- and ninth-graders at the seminary's summer camp, a crystal cup full of candy for its victory in the camp's water Olympics?
Were I to pass judgment, I'd wonder whether the editorial was too preoccupied with put-on politics and the prospect of "papability" to see the real Archbishop Burke, a genuine shepherd who lays down his life for his flock.
Charles Samson | Des Peres
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Congratulations to Archbishop Raymond Burke on the honor of being appointed the prefect of the Apostolic Signatura! Archbishop Burke has worked tirelessly to tend to the spiritual needs of his flock in St. Louis. He has been a good and wise shepherd, courageously promoting and defending the dignity and inviolability of human life from conception until natural death, proclaiming all the truths of the Roman Catholic Church without compromise and confronting difficult situations with pastoral concern for the souls of those involved.
Archbishop Burke is a brilliant canon lawyer, a good man and a holy priest. It has been a privilege to have him as our archbishop. I pray for him daily, and I encourage every Catholic in the archdiocese to do the same in gratitude for his tenure as our archbishop and for God to give him strength as he prepares to assume his weighty new responsibilities.
Mary Grace Sundy | Lake Saint Louis
----------Happiness
Archbishop Raymond Burke is leaving to join the Roman curia. The archbishop is happy, his friends are happy, and his opponents are happy. It's a great time to be Catholic in St. Louis.
Robert M. Woolsey | Ladue
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Archbishop Raymond Burke is moving to Vatican City. Hallelujah! That's good news for St. Louis. I can't imagine a replacement being as much or more of a disappointment than Archbishop Burke has been. Having him as archbishop almost made me embarrassed to admit to being Roman Catholic. The original title for his new position, years ago, was "Grand Inquisitor of the Holy Inquisition." That seems to be the role Archbishop Burke has played in St. Louis.
My sympathy goes out to the Roman Catholic Church international. But since I live and try to grow spiritually at the local level, I'm very happy for the St. Louis Archdiocese.
Joe Naumann | Florissant
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I commend "The true believer" (June 29), an editorial regarding Archbishop Raymond Burke's handling of the situations that have confronted him in an up-front manner. Knowing of the paper's history, however, I wasn't surprised that it included reporting of the SNAP allegations against the archbishop regarding the transfer of pedophile priests into the archdiocese.
The last two paragraphs were unfair and scandalous to the archbishop and the people of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Where are the facts to support SNAP's allegations? Archbishop Burke has created the Archdiocesan Review Board comprised of distinguished Catholics and clergy to hear all allegations pertaining to the pedophile scandal and deal with them in an up-front and fair way. To my knowledge, SNAP has not approached the appointed board with any of the allegations to which the editorial refers. The paper has created a grave injustice with the editorial.
Thomas M. Noonan | St. Louis County
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At the beginning of a church year in which Catholics celebrate the life of the Apostle Paul, I am thankful for Archbishop Raymond Burke's edifying defense of orthodoxy and his perseverance despite a storm of hostility. It must have been frustrating to restate elementary Catholic principles to a culture that largely informs itself through the shrinking religious literacy of the media.
Whether it was a parish that changed its bylaws to subordinate the pastor to a lay board or a college basketball coach who used his Catholic visibility to publicly endorse a political candidate who believes we must have abortion in case a baby is deformed, the archbishop addressed the issue. He drew heaps of criticism for citing the inherent contradiction of inviting a highly visible advocate of reproductive choice to raise money for a Catholic hospital treating children who otherwise could have been aborted with her passive acceptance. Archbishop Burke has presided over the archdiocese at a time when a university renounces its Catholic identity to build a gym but now runs radio ads extolling that it is Catholic.
I pray that the archbishop's return to the Eternal City, to the ground hallowed by the blood of the apostles Peter and Paul, will inspire him to remember his time in St. Louis with fondness for those who appreciated his authentic representation of faith.
Daniel G. Fink | Ballwin
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Once again, the Post-Dispatch exhibits its characteristic anti-Catholic bias. The articles "Yes, Burke has been divisive — but he cares about faith" and "Controversial here, esteemed in Rome" (both June 28) describe Archbishop Raymond Burke as "controversial" and "divisive." Only uninformed pseudo-Catholics and non-Catholics would describe the archbishop in these terms. As such, the depictions are irrelevant and immaterial and, in the interest of common decency, are not suitable to be printed.
As educated Catholics know, the church deals in absolutes. It is not and never was intended to be a democracy. Archbishop Burke's role was to uphold orthodoxy, Catholic teaching and Catholic Church law. In this, he sometimes was forced to mete out discipline, the same as responsible parents do. Calling the archbishop of St. Louis "controversial" is tantamount to calling Pope Benedict "controversial" because he directly or indirectly upholds orthodoxy. The Post-Dispatch and other dissenters would be well-served to stick to subjects of which they have some knowledge.
Thomas S. Gates | Chesterfield
What's truly amazing is that, of the eleven letters published by the Post, only two were of the negative or vicious variety...Quite out of character, it seems. Praised be God!
Source: Post Dispatch
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