Cardinal Burke: Theologians’ Mandatum Should Be Required by Colleges, Disclosed to Students

Catholic families have a right to know which theology professors have the mandatum, and Catholic colleges and universities should require it as a condition for employment, affirmed the Vatican’s chief judge Cardinal Raymond Burke in a new report prompted by recent concerns from Pope Benedict XVI.

Cardinal Burke and several bishops, canon law experts, and theologians discussed the mandatum with The Cardinal Newman Society in an online report published today at http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/.

The report, titled “A Mandate for Fidelity,” follows upon a May 5th address by Pope Benedict to several American bishops during their ad limina visit to Rome. The Pope expressed concern that “much remains to be done” toward the renewal of Catholic identity in U.S. Catholic colleges and universities, “especially in such areas as compliance with the mandate laid down in Canon 812 for those who teach theological disciplines.”

...
Citing Pope Benedict’s description of the mandatum as “a tangible expression of ecclesial communion and solidarity,” Cardinal Burke said:

It’s tangible in the sense that it’s a public declaration, in writing, on the part of the ecclesiastical authority that a theologian is teaching in communion with the Church, and people have a right to know that so that if you, for instance, are at a Catholic university or parents are sending their children to the Catholic university, they know that the professors who are teaching theological disciplines at the university are teaching in communion with the Church. They are assured in that by the public declaration of the diocesan bishop.

“The fact that I teach in accord with the Magisterium is a public factor,” added Cardinal Burke. “That’s not some private, secret thing between myself and the Lord.”

More here: http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/Home/tabid/36/ctl/details/itemid/1585/mid/435/cardinal-burke-says-theologians-mandatum-should-be-required-by-colleges-disclos.aspx
  

Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke at Oratory of St. Francis de Sales

A few weeks after his elevation to the College of Cardinals by the Holy Father, His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke is coming home to St. Louis.

St. Francis de Sales Oratory will have the great honor of receiving His Eminence on Saturday, January 8, 2011 at 5:00 PM. Cardinal Burke will celebrate a Solemn Te Deum of thanksgiving with Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament. After the ceremony all the faithful are invited to the church hall for a reception in the Cardinal’s honor. Please join us on this glorious occasion when we will have the opportunity to congratulate His Eminence personally and to thank him for all that he has done for St. Francis de Sales Oratory.

Source.

Cardinal Burke: Authentic Catholic universities help resist ‘secular dictatorship'

The authentically Catholic university helps students resist “secularist dictatorship” by keeping Jesus Christ at the center of its mission and by exposing the moral bankruptcy of contemporary culture, Cardinal Raymond Burke said Dec. 4...

In a lengthy discussion of the nature of Catholic higher education, he said that a Catholic university faithful to its identity will help students give an account of their faith and help them resist “the secularist dictatorship which would exclude all religious discourse from the professions and from public life in general.”...

Cardinal Burke lamented the fall of many American Catholic colleges and universities that have become “Catholic in name only.”...

On the issues of creating curricula and hiring professors, Cardinal Burke advised “special care,” noting the poor religious formation of many young Catholics.

“Given the religious illiteracy which marks our time and in fidelity to the seriousness with which university studies should be undertaken, there is really no place for engaging in speculative theology and certainly no time to waste on superficial and tendentious theological writings of the time,” the cardinal contended...

Much more here from Catholic News Agency (CNA).

Rather timely considering the plans SLU has for a speaker

Bishop Robert J. Hermann Retires

Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the retirement of Bishop Robert J. Hermann, who has served as auxiliary bishop of St. Louis since 2002. His retirement is effective Dec. 1, the same day as the appointment of Msgr. Edward M. Rice as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Louis...

A Mass of thanksgiving for his service will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 12, at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. The Mass also marks the eighth anniversary of his episcopal ordination...

More here from the St Louis Review.

We wish Bishop Hermann well in his retirement and offer prayers of thanksgiving for his devotion to Christ and to Catholics of St Louis. I hope we will continue to be inspired by his wonderful articles in the St Louis Review.

Former BOD Chairman of St Stanislaus Sentenced to 1 Year

Brothers in tow company scandal get same sentence: 1 year, 1 day
From the Post Dispatch:

The brothers and owners of a towing and parking lot company each were sentenced to one year and one day in prison today for tax evasion.

A federal judge ordered William Bialczak to an additional two years of supervised release and a fine of $100,000....

The judge also ordered William Bialczak to make restitution of $370,185 to the Internal Revenue Service, although that money will be taken out of the $500,000 the government seized when it raided the towing company in August 2008.

...William Bialczak will serve his prison term first...

The Post-Dispatch article is here.

For previous posts regarding the excommunicated Bialczak, click here.

A special HT to Eugene B for the updates!

Dr Edward Peters: A good profile essay on almost-Cardinal Burke

Dr Peters writes:

Franz Klein of the Diocese of Lacrosse has a nice spread on Archbishop, and-one-day-shy-of-being-formally Cardinal, Burke in the on-line The Catholic Times (18 Nov. 2010, page 3B). Klein offers a good overview of Burke’s typical day at the Apostolic Signatura, and of the esteem in which he is held by those concerned for the proper coordination of law and theology. The essay even features a few quotes by yours truly. So enjoy!

It's been another good week for the Church: Abp. Dolan elected president of the USCCB, Abp. Burke, among others, elevated to the College of Cardinals. Let's just remember, though, the trials of the Church in places like China, where bishops faithful to the Holy See are being forced to attend on Saturday an episcopal ordination performed in violation of 1983 CIC 1382. Think of it as two strides forward, one shove back. Oremus pro invicem.

Speaking of cardinals, I have updated my list of Cardinal Electors.

Original post here.

Catholic Voters Get Guidance from Rome [Archbishop Burke]

Cardinal-designate Raymond Burke in exclusive new interview, "There is a discrimination which is perfectly good and just"

As Americans approach the eve of election week, U.S. Cardinal-designate Raymond Burke is reminding Catholics in an exclusive 25-minute video interview that they are bound in conscience to vote for political candidates who oppose aborting babies, embryonic stem cell experiments, euthanasia and so-called homosexual "marriage."

"Millions of Catholics have no idea it's a sin to vote for candidates who favor these grave evils, which attack the very foundations of society," said Thomas McKenna, President of Catholic Action for Faith and Family. "This matter-of-fact, pointed interview granted to me by Archbishop Raymond Burke in Rome last week makes it very clear what the responsibility of every American Catholic will be next Tuesday...

More here

See the Archbishop Burke videos here

News Updates, 10/21

Pope Benedict XVI announces 24 new cardinals
Pontiff: List 'reflects the universality of the Church'

DC's Archbishop Donald Wuerl to become cardinal
'I am humbled by our Holy Father's...trust in me'

Archbishop Raymond Burke to become a cardinal
Former St. Louis leader now head of Vatican dicastery

Newly named US cardinals divided on politics
'Wuerl is not a bombthrower. Burke is a bombthrower'
[USAToday trash link for reference only]

List of cardinal-designates named by Pope
Includes archbishops of Palermo, Warsaw, Colombo

Minn. archbishop: No 'lukewarm' Catholics welcome
Defends his right to speak to Catholics on social issues

Lawsuit: Archdiocese used dirty tricks
St. Louis parish says chancery used a 'mole' at church

Cleared Benedictine monk sues, alleges defamation
Charges that bishop based decision on 'erroneous allegations'

Man saves hundreds from suicide with kindness
'Watchman' sits at cliffside home scanning precipice

L'Osservatore Romano and the Irrelevance of "Relevance"
When I discovered the internet hullabalooo over that silly article, the latest in a string of silliness from L'Osservatore Romano, telling the world that Homer Simpson is a "real" Catholic, I just sighed. It was just one more little bit of cringeworthy sophomoric nonsense from a paper that seems to be struggling with a humiliating mid-life crisis...

A.L.L. President Calls on Vatican to Dismiss L'Osservatore Romano Editor Over Simpson "Debacle"
American Life League president Judie Brown is calling on supporters to ask the Vatican’s press office to dismiss the editor of L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s official newspaper, after the paper made a pronouncement that infamously inane cartoon character Homer Simpson is a Catholic. Brown is a three-term member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, the group that advises the pope on life issues.

It's Official: Raymond *CARDINAL* Burke!!!

Pope names 24 new cardinals

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI has named 24 new cardinals, including a large number of Italians, two Americans and prelates for key posts in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa.

The new cardinals include Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., and Archbishop Raymond Burke, formerly the La Crosse, Wis., bishop who now leads a Vatican court. Burke has been sharply critical of the Democratic Party in the United States for its support of abortion rights.

The pope made the announcement Wednesday, putting his mark on the body that will elect his successor.

Other key posts were Warsaw, Munich, Kinshasa, Quito, Lusaka, Zambia, and Sri Lanka.

Source

Congratulations and prayers to Archbishop Burke!

Read Archbishop Burke's statement on the announcement of the consistory for the creation of Cardinals here

St. Stanislaus Lawsuit filed in St. Clair County

From the Belleview News Democrat:

St. Stanislaus lawsuit filed in St. Clair County alleges law firm used a 'spy'

A St. Louis-based law firm with an office in Belleville planted a spy and encouraged the former attorney for a rebel parish fighting the Archdiocese of St. Louis over property to violate, "...every relevant ethical duty and breached virtually every rule in the Rules of Professional Conduct," according to a lawsuit filed in St. Clair County.

Lawyers for the archdiocese planted the spy and caused a former lawyer for St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in St. Louis to turn against his ex-clients in the archdiocese' efforts to regain control of a church and its property, according to the lawsuit.

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale "violated every relevant ethical duty and breached virtually every rule in the Rules of Professional Conduct" when it enlisted Roger Krasnicki, the former attorney for St. Stanislaus Church, stated a complaint in the Oct. 15 lawsuit filed by Thomas Q. Keefe Jr. of Belleville....

Read more here

Archbishop Burke's Epic Speech

The recent speech given by Archbishop Raymond Burke continues to send shockwaves through the Catholic world. More than a few bishops must be feeling very uncomfortable.

Vatican Archbishop Burke: Public Repentance is Required for Pro-Abort Politicians

October 12, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Speaking at the Human Life International World Prayer Congress Saturday, Archbishop Raymond Burke received sustained applause when he noted that Catholic politicians who support abortion are required to repent publicly.

Speaking to pro-life leaders from 45 nations, the Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura (the highest Vatican court) also noted that those who recognize the scandal caused by such public, dissident Catholics assist the Church in repairing a serious breach, but are nevertheless often ridiculed for it...

Archbishop Burke stressed that “both bishops and the faithful” must be obedient to the Magisterium...“If the shepherd is not obedient the flock easily gives way to confusion and error.”

Burke, who is also a member of the Congregation for Bishops added: “A most tragic example of the lack of obedience of faith, also on the part of certain Bishops, was the response of many to the Encyclical Letter Humanae vitae of Pope Paul VI, published on July 25, 1968. The confusion which resulted has led many Catholics into habits of sin in what pertains to the procreation and education of human life.”...

The Vatican prelate [also stated]:

Lying or failing to tell the truth, however, is never a sign of charity. A unity which is not founded on the truth of the moral law is not the unity of the Church. The Church’s unity is founded on speaking the truth with love.

The person who experiences scandal at public actions of Catholics, which are gravely contrary to the moral law, not only does not destroy unity but invites the Church to repair what is clearly a serious breach in Her life.

Were he not to experience scandal at the public support of attacks on human life and the family, his conscience would be uninformed or dulled about the most sacred realities.

More here.

(Read the complete talk here) [PDF}.

[Hat tip to Penny for the link!]

Dr Edward Peters: Resources for Understanding and Applying Canon 915.

Dr. Peters writes:

Serious discussion of Canon 915 requires access to key documents on the law and awareness of the positions taken thereon by qualified commentators. I have developed a webpage for those who wish to understand, and perhaps contribute to, the discussions on the application of Canon 915 in the life of the Church. I will try to update the page as feasible.

More here.

Charity, truth and justice must guide Vatican court, states Pope Benedict

[Marriage Indissoluable]

From Catholic News Agency:

Vatican City, Jan 29, 2010 / 11:21 am (CNA).- The Holy Father addressed members of the Roman Rota, the second highest Vatican court, this morning for the inauguration of the judicial year. In his message, he emphasized the importance of charity, truth and justice in guiding their work, especially as it pertains to upholding the Sacrament of Marriage.

In society today, said the Holy Father, we tend to "contrast justice with charity, almost as if the one excluded the other."

Alluding to a specific example, the Pope explained that "some people maintain that pastoral charity justifies any measures taken towards the declaration of nullity of the marriage bond."

In this case, he maintained, truth "would thus tend to be seen in a functional perspective, adapting itself to the different requirements that arise in each case.”

Pope Benedict XVI told the members of the court that they must uphold the virtue of justice and also be strong, especially "when injustice seems the easiest path to follow, in as much as it involves giving in to the desires and expectations of the parties involved, or to the conditioning of the social environment."

Neither can they neglect charity, he added, because maintaining a "charitable perspective... will help us not to forget that those before us are always people marked by problems and suffering."

And, in the cases of annulment, "whenever there seems to be hope of a successful outcome," said the Pope, they must make every effort to reunite the spouses.

Another important issue regarding justice in annulments, added the Holy Father, involves the avoidance of "pseudo-pastoral demands which place the issue on a merely horizontal plain."

These cases, he said, are typified by the attitude that the importance lies in "satisfying subjective requests in order to achieve a declaration of nullity at any cost, with the aim of overcoming, among other things, the obstacles to receiving the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist."

This, explained Pope Benedict, "would, however, be a false advantage to ease the way towards receiving the Sacraments, at the risk of causing people to live in objective contrast with the truth of their own individual state."

"Both justice and charity require love for truth... (and) without truth, charity slides into sentimentalism. Love becomes an empty shell to be filled arbitrarily. This is the fatal risk of love in a culture without truth."

"The problem arises when the essence itself of marriage becomes more or less obscured," stated the Holy Father, adding that the "examination of the conjugal bond in existential, personalist and relational terms must never be undertaken at the expense of indissolubility, an essential property which in Christian marriage has, with unity, a special firmness by virtue of the Sacrament."

"Marriage enjoys the favor of the law," concluded Benedict XVI, "Therefore, whenever there is doubt, a marriage must be held to be valid until the contrary is proven, otherwise we run the serious risk of remaining without an objective point of reference for pronouncements of nullity, transforming all conjugal difficulties into a symptom of a failed union whose essential nucleus of justice - the indissoluble bond - is thus effectively denied."

Benedict XVI: Marriage is indissoluable

Author Calls on US Bishops to Reform Catholic News Service (CNS)

Says powerful USCCB news agency rebuked by Archbishop Burke for good reason

Catholic News Service has long been viewed with a suspicious eye by "conservative" Catholic groups, but any perception that this wariness is confined to some traditionalist fringe, however, was officially put to rest earlier this year.

By January 2009, CNS' failure to consistently apply reliably Catholic editorial standards had become so problematic that Archbishop Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura at the Vatican, was moved to take the extraordinarily bold step of criticizing CNS from Rome...

More here:
Part 1
&
Part 2

Archbishop Raymond Burke Visits Thomas More College's Rome Campus

From yesterday:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 10, 2009

ARCHBISHOP RAYMOND BURKE VISITS THOMAS MORE COLLEGE’S ROME CAMPUS

(ROME, ITALY)—For the second time this semester, the students of Thomas More College’s Rome program enjoyed the company of Archbishop Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura. Effectively the Chief Justice of the Roman Catholic Church’s “Supreme Court,” Archbishop Burke is one of the highest ranking Americans in the Roman Curia, which governs the Church on behalf of the pope.

Archbishop Burke celebrated Mass in the College’s Rome campus chapel with students and staff on the Feast of Christ the King. His homily highlighted the importance of letting Christ reign as king in our lives and over society—and the practical steps Christians can take toward making this happen, principally by rediscovering devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Thomas More College was formally consecrated to the Sacred Heart on October 16, 2009.

Archbishop Burke then joined the students in the dining hall maintained by the Maronite Catholic monks who host Thomas More College’s Rome program each year. During the three-course meal accompanied by local red wine, Archbishop Burke gave the students free rein to ask questions on a wide array of subjects, according to sophomore William Russell.

“He was very amiable and answered the questions with frankness and sincerity,” said Russell. “The topics ranged from the centrality of the family to the social effects of technology, mediocrity in America, and even the goodness of family farming. Burke is a native of Wisconsin and the son of a dairy farmer, so he has firm opinions on the subject.”

Sophomore Mary Monaghan recounts: “After Mass, when we discussed problems of the world over pistachios and peanuts, it was particularly encouraging to hear Archbishop Burke’s response to the issue of the breakdown of the family—which he cited as the source of most of the troubles in modern culture. He encouraged familial devotion to the Sacred Heart, and the importance of working together and eating together as a family. Though the atmosphere can become tense when dining with a renowned person, our lunch with Archbishop Burke was not like that. He listened to our opinions, too. It was a pleasure speaking with him.”

Over cups of espresso in the formal reception room after dinner, the prefect described the work of the Apostolic Signatura and answered students’ questions about the inner workings of the highest levels of governance in the Church.

Sophomore Benjamin Bible asked Archbishop Burke about his public statements concerning Catholic politicians who dissent from core truths of the Faith, such as the sanctity of life. The Archbishop gave a detailed explanation, which echoed the position he has consistently pronounced publically—that dissenting politicians should not receive or be offered Holy Communion.

The students and the prelate also discussed more global issues, including the recent intervention by the European Court of Human Rights into the Church/State relationship in Italy. In that case, the court decided to pull out the crucifixes which have traditionally been displayed in Italian classrooms. As the chief jurist for a very different international tribunal, Burke offered a well-informed and incisive critique of that court decision.

As the archbishop was preparing to depart, William Russell and Mary Monaghan (who are engaged to be married) asked him for their blessing, which Archbishop Burke cheerfully gave.

“The visit was a great success,” Russell said. “After an afternoon of worship, discussion, and feasting, we all left feeling renewed and refreshed.”

For most of the school’s history, each sophomore at Thomas More College has taken part in the school’s required Rome Semester to gain a first-hand experience of the capital of Christendom. Whether they’re touring ancient pagan temples, navigating the catacombs that hold the bones of saints, or learning the Christian import of masterworks by Bernini and Michaelangelo, students are guided by Thomas More College faculty to place each experience in the context of their broad, liberal arts education and the Catholic tradition.

The Rome semester makes intimate and immediate the school’s tight focus on the history and classic texts of the Western tradition. It pushes students to go beyond their textbooks and lectures to grow in their faith—as well as their understanding of the foundations of Western civilization and American democracy.

Thomas More College’s Rome program is housed in a monastery just miles from the Vatican, where students interact daily with a community of monks—seeing firsthand the mode of life that gave birth to medieval academic culture.

While in Rome, students also are given the opportunity to meet with high level Church officials. In addition to Archbishop Raymond Burke, Thomas More College’s Rome program students have attended Masses with Pope Benedict XVI and dined with Francis Cardinal Arinze, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

Archbishop Burke has consistently praised Thomas More College for its fidelity to the Roman Catholic Church. Earlier this year, the archbishop wrote:

Both the liberal arts curriculum and the extracurricular activities at Thomas More College are outstanding for their fidelity to the Magisterium. The teaching at Thomas More College exemplifies the right relationship between faith and reason, which is always at the service of the truth. The faculty of the College are faithful in their teaching and example, and, therefore, are able to educate students in the way which prepares them to follow Christ, the Truth, in both their private and public life. At a time when some Catholic institutions of higher education are drifting from the Catholic faith, it is most heartening to know that Thomas More College continues to promote and defend vigorously the Catholic faith and its practice. To put it simply, Thomas More College is a gift for which all of us should be most grateful.

Dr. William Fahey, president of Thomas More College, said, “Thomas More College is deeply grateful to Archbishop Burke for taking time to visit our Rome campus, and for allowing our students to interact with him in such an intimate and personal setting. We look forward to his continued guidance and support as we seek to develop in our students a profound love for Truth.”

The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts provides a four-year undergraduate education which develops young people intellectually, ethically, and spiritually in the Catholic tradition and in faithfulness to the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. Thomas More College introduces its students to the central questions of the Western civilization – and to the Church’s response. It teaches the skills in reasoning, speaking, and writing that will allow its graduates to become faithful leaders according to the individual vocations which God has given them. In recent years, the College has allowed the strength of its curriculum to radiate out into several new initiatives, such as its Vatican Studies Center, Center for Faith and Culture (Oxford, England), and the Way of Beauty Program. Through the lectures, books, workshops and other programs hosted by these centers, Thomas More College is consistently seeking new and better ways of communicating perennial truths amid the confusion of contemporary society.
###
Contact: Charlie McKinney
Phone: (603) 880-8308, ext. 21
Mobile: (603) 913-5939
Email: cmckinney@ThomasMoreCollege.edu

Pictures of the visit can be viewed here.

Third St. Louis area Roman Catholic Womanpriest To Be "Ordained" Today

A 'Press Release' was recently issued by the delusional women who hopelessly claim to have been ordained as "priests" in the Roman Catholic Church. Apparently, a third woman, Marybeth McBryan, of St. Louis, is to join the ranks of the heretics and schismatics!

The 'Press Release' as received on Saturday:

Deacon Marybeth McBryan, of St. Louis, will be ordained a priest on November 1, 2009, All Saints Day. The celebration will be in her home community of Therese of Divine Peace, with Bishop Joan Clark Houk officiating.

Marybeth has been heavily involved in parish ministries in the Archdiocese of St. Louis for nearly 30 years. A mother and grandmother, she is a former teacher in both parochial and public schools, and has also served on the Board of Education of the St. Louis Public Schools. Marybeth has a Master’s in education with secondary degrees in administration and counseling, and has accrued 40+ hours in theology, liturgy and religious education. She is currently a part of the music ministry and serves as deacon at Therese of Divine Peace, and will continue on the ministerial staff there following her ordination as priest.

Roman Catholic Womenpriests continue to validly ordain women and marginalized men to the Roman Catholic priesthood in an effort to bring reform and renewal into an unjust hierarchical structure that is increasingly misogynous and misoneist. Rather than looking backward and inward, Roman Catholic Womenpriests continue to look forward and outward in the spirit of Vatican II. We are here. We are ministering. We are growing. We are not going away.

The ordination is at 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 1, 2009, with the Therese of Divine Peace Inclusive Community. The Therese community meets at First Unitarian Universalist Church of St. Louis, 5007 Waterman Blvd. The ordination will take place in the sanctuary, and a light reception will follow in the Fellowship Hall.

Therese of Divine Peace Inclusive Community celebrates together every Sunday at 5 p.m. Regular services take place in Hope Chapel, at the rear of the First Unitarian complex. Our liturgy has continued without interruption since December 1, 2007, because we strive to imitate Jesus, who always and everywhere made clear to everyone that ALL ARE WELCOME.

Further information is available at www.thereseofdivinepeace.org.

Fortunately, I will be unable to attend this scandalous charade - once you've seen one you've seen 'em all...Pray for their conversion!

Archbishop Burke offers 1st Tridentine High Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica in 40 years

Wonderful news!

Archbishop Raymond Burke, prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, has offered the first solemn High Mass in the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite in St. Peter’s Basilica since the promulgation of the ordinary form four decades ago. The Pontifical Mass took place in the Chapel of the Most Holy Sacrament...

Read more at Catholic Culture here

News Updates, 9/23

Funeral Rites Should be Denied to Publicly Pro-Abort Catholics: Vatican Official [Burke]
In an address to InsideCatholic.com's 14th Annual Partnership Dinner Friday evening, Archbishop Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Vatican's Apostolic Signatura, said that funeral rites should not be given to pro-abortion Catholic politicians. He also defended the duty of Catholics to speak in charity against the scandal caused by such figures.

The archbishop said that, while "we must speak the truth in charity," Catholics also "should have the courage to look truth in the eye and call things by their common names." "It is not possible to be a practicing Catholic and to conduct oneself in this manner," he told the crowd of about 200 guests.

Burke hammered home his message of the need for fidelity to Church teaching on the part of Catholics in politics in his 50-minute speech. The archbishop, known for his unwavering and vocal defense of the Church's teachings on life and family issues, was given a standing ovation at the conclusion of his address.
[And where are the bishops in Amerika??? They act like the hirelings who have run off when 'danger' approaches...These clowns fear the truth! May God have mercy on their pitiable souls!]

The Catholic Bishops and ACORN
This is a good news/bad news story. First the good news: The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) cut off all funding to ACORN at some point in 2008, after revelations of the embezzlement of nearly $1 million dollars by the brother of Wade Rathke, the founder of ACORN. What's not such great news is that the Catholic Church, through the CCHD, was funding ACORN in the first place....

Catholic Medical Association Comes out Publicly Against Obamacare
Open Letter to Catholics and Catholic Organizations
[...]Health-care services are expensive and fragmented. These problems result largely from misguided incentives in tax, employment, and government policy. One unfortunate result of this has been increasing third-party payer intrusion into the patient-physician relationship, with significantly deleterious consequences.

All Catholics should agree on the fundamental ethical and social principles proposed by the Church. The question we are faced with, after decades of misguided policies, is how should we apply these teachings so as to provide universal access to quality health-care insurance and services in a cost-effective, ethical manner?

Bills passed out of committees in the House and Senate this summer rely heavily on the federal government to dictate solutions. They empower a small group of unelected government bureaucrats and committees to determine the composition and cost of health insurance policies, the reimbursement of providers, the approval of treatments, etc. We think this government-controlled approach is flawed in principle and ineffective, if not dangerous, in practice....

“Essential and irreplaceable”
Pope tells bishops laity cannot replace priests
In an audience...with bishops visiting from Brazil, Pope Benedict XVI advised them on how to respond to the lack of priests, emphasizing that the shortage cannot be solved by having lay people substitute for the clergy...

Aug 2 - Conference w/ Abp Burke, Pierluigi Molla

Sunday, August 2, 2009
All Day Conference
at the
Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe
La Crosse, WI

Hosted by
Archbishop Raymond L. Burke
Founder, Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Prefect, Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura - Vatican

With a Special Summer Guest from Italy
Pierluigi Molla
Son of Saint Gianna Molla

Click here, for more information.