On March 6, Journalist Edward Pentin asked Cardinal Raymond Burke:
"Why won’t a group from the College of Cardinals visit the Holy Father and appeal to him to change course, or express their disapproval about the direction things are going in?"
Cardinal Burke answered:
"The question is: Is there such a group? There are two or three or four who have spoken up and made it clear. And we don’t make this public, but, obviously, we express our concerns directly to the Holy Father. I’m not excusing myself, but I don’t consider myself the savior of the Church. I’m trying to do my part, but, normally speaking, in the history of the Church regarding these matters, there was at least a group, in the sense of three or more, who would go to the Holy Father and say to him that something is simply not right and can’t go on."
[https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/cardinal-burke-discusses-querida-amazonia]
Does Cardinal Burke think that saying he is “not the savior of the Church” is "not excusing [him]self"?
What if God both wants and intends him to be the providential means, as was Saint Athanasius during the Arian Crisis, as was Saint John Fisher in the days of Henry VIII?
In fact, Church Militant once called Cardinal Burke the "St. John Fisher of our time":
"Saint John Fisher was the only bishop in 16th-century England to stand up for the Church's teaching on marriage, and it cost him his head. Cardinal Raymond Burke is one of the few outspoken prelates to do so today, and he isn't concerned with losing his red hat."
"In an interview last December, Cdl. Burke was asked about the political fear reportedly prevailing in the Vatican, which is apparently intimidating prelates into silence. The former head of the Church's highest court brought up the example of St. John Fisher, who died under King Henry VIII instead of separating himself from papal teaching on marriage."
"'One thinks, for instance, of the case of St. John Fisher in England at the time of King Henry VIII, when he was the only bishop who upheld the truth of the Faith, who defended Christ and His Holy Church,' noted Cdl. Burke."
[https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/cdl.-burke-st.-john-fisher-of-our-time]
St. Fisher was the "'only bishop who upheld the truth of the Faith, who defended Christ and His Holy Church,' noted Cdl. Burke." He didn't have "three or more, who would go" with him "to died under King Henry VIII."
Burke told Raymond Arroyo "I don’t want to get into this business of the numbers... all of the bishops of England except St. John Fisher went along with the error, but St. John Fisher is the saint because he defended the truth":
"Yes, there are other cardinals. I don’t want to get into this business of the numbers. We have to remember, the criterion here is the truth. There have been cases, for instance, take for example the case of Henry VIII and his desire to be able to enter a second marriage without having his first marriage declared null—all of the bishops of England except St. John Fisher went along with the error, but St. John Fisher is the saint because he defended the truth. And all of us in the Church who are cardinals, bishops, we have the responsibility to defend the truth; whether we seem to be numerous or we seem to be very few doesn’t make any difference. It’s the truth of Christ which has to be taught."
[https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/cardinal-burke-responds-to-dubia-critics-not-a-sign-of-illness-to-care-abou]
Moreover, Cardinal Burke in an interview with CNS News said St. Fisher in being a martyr for the "defense of the indissolubility of marriage" "absolutely" did the "right thing" and "certainly" Fisher is a "model" for him:
"Did Cardinal Fisher do the right thing by saying he would stand on his life in defense of the indissolubility of marriage?"
"Cardinal Burke: Absolutely. No priest, no bishop, and no Roman pontiff could do less. In other words, to betray the indissolubility of marriage which King Henry VIII was asking him to do would have been to betray his Catholic faith and he could not do that and Our Lord gave him the grace to be a martyr. He even made reference to Saint John the Baptist, who during Jesus’ own public ministry gave this heroic witness to the indissolubility of marriage by making clear to Herod that he was living in public and grave sin by living as a husband with his own brother’s wife who obviously was bound to marriage to his brother."
"Jeffrey: Should Cardinal Fisher be a model to Catholic priests and laymen today?"
"Cardinal Burke: Well, he certainly is for me. From the time I became a bishop, I have given special study to his life. But he’s a model for all priests and bishops and the lay faithful."
[https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/cardinal-burke-i-m-praying-very-fervently-coming-year-confusion-will]
Cardinal Burke said clearly defending the Faith like St. Fisher is his personal "model" as a cardinal supposedly no matter the cost to himself.
On December 16, 2016, Steve Skojec quoted the renowned Church historian Roberto de Mattei on the “grave responsibilities” of Cardinal Burke to "correct" Francis and "ascertain his renunciation of the pontificate, in the case of voluntary demission or of manifest and persistent heresy":
"De Mattei highlights the honors and “grave responsibilities” that rest on cardinals, and cites examples of their duty to fraternally correct the pope from both the 19th and 20th centuries. He examines the thought of certain medieval canonists on the question of papal infallibility and obstinate and public papal heresy, then instructs that:"
'The cardinals who elect the Pope do not have the authority to depose him, but may ascertain his renunciation of the pontificate, in the case of voluntary demission or of manifest and persistent heresy. In the tragic times of history, they must serve the Church, even until the shedding of blood, as the colour red indicates in the garments they wear and the formula at the imposition of the biretta “red as sign of the dignity of the Cardinalate, signifying that you must be ready to act with fortitude, even unto the shedding of blood, for the increase in the Christian Faith, for the peace and tranquility of the People of God and for the freedom and diffusion of Holy Mother Church.'”
[https://onepeterfive.com/cardinal-burke-corrects-errors-papal-defenders-de-mattei-sets-historical-stage-confrontation/]
Is Cardinal Burke going to be an enabler of the errors of Francis like all the bishops of England were enablers of the errors of the King except one in the days of Henry VIII or is he going to be like St. John Fisher?
Pray an Our Father now for the restoration of the Church as well as for the Triumph of the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
"Why won’t a group from the College of Cardinals visit the Holy Father and appeal to him to change course, or express their disapproval about the direction things are going in?"
Cardinal Burke answered:
"The question is: Is there such a group? There are two or three or four who have spoken up and made it clear. And we don’t make this public, but, obviously, we express our concerns directly to the Holy Father. I’m not excusing myself, but I don’t consider myself the savior of the Church. I’m trying to do my part, but, normally speaking, in the history of the Church regarding these matters, there was at least a group, in the sense of three or more, who would go to the Holy Father and say to him that something is simply not right and can’t go on."
[https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/cardinal-burke-discusses-querida-amazonia]
Does Cardinal Burke think that saying he is “not the savior of the Church” is "not excusing [him]self"?
What if God both wants and intends him to be the providential means, as was Saint Athanasius during the Arian Crisis, as was Saint John Fisher in the days of Henry VIII?
In fact, Church Militant once called Cardinal Burke the "St. John Fisher of our time":
"Saint John Fisher was the only bishop in 16th-century England to stand up for the Church's teaching on marriage, and it cost him his head. Cardinal Raymond Burke is one of the few outspoken prelates to do so today, and he isn't concerned with losing his red hat."
"In an interview last December, Cdl. Burke was asked about the political fear reportedly prevailing in the Vatican, which is apparently intimidating prelates into silence. The former head of the Church's highest court brought up the example of St. John Fisher, who died under King Henry VIII instead of separating himself from papal teaching on marriage."
"'One thinks, for instance, of the case of St. John Fisher in England at the time of King Henry VIII, when he was the only bishop who upheld the truth of the Faith, who defended Christ and His Holy Church,' noted Cdl. Burke."
[https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/cdl.-burke-st.-john-fisher-of-our-time]
St. Fisher was the "'only bishop who upheld the truth of the Faith, who defended Christ and His Holy Church,' noted Cdl. Burke." He didn't have "three or more, who would go" with him "to died under King Henry VIII."
Burke told Raymond Arroyo "I don’t want to get into this business of the numbers... all of the bishops of England except St. John Fisher went along with the error, but St. John Fisher is the saint because he defended the truth":
"Yes, there are other cardinals. I don’t want to get into this business of the numbers. We have to remember, the criterion here is the truth. There have been cases, for instance, take for example the case of Henry VIII and his desire to be able to enter a second marriage without having his first marriage declared null—all of the bishops of England except St. John Fisher went along with the error, but St. John Fisher is the saint because he defended the truth. And all of us in the Church who are cardinals, bishops, we have the responsibility to defend the truth; whether we seem to be numerous or we seem to be very few doesn’t make any difference. It’s the truth of Christ which has to be taught."
[https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/cardinal-burke-responds-to-dubia-critics-not-a-sign-of-illness-to-care-abou]
Moreover, Cardinal Burke in an interview with CNS News said St. Fisher in being a martyr for the "defense of the indissolubility of marriage" "absolutely" did the "right thing" and "certainly" Fisher is a "model" for him:
"Did Cardinal Fisher do the right thing by saying he would stand on his life in defense of the indissolubility of marriage?"
"Cardinal Burke: Absolutely. No priest, no bishop, and no Roman pontiff could do less. In other words, to betray the indissolubility of marriage which King Henry VIII was asking him to do would have been to betray his Catholic faith and he could not do that and Our Lord gave him the grace to be a martyr. He even made reference to Saint John the Baptist, who during Jesus’ own public ministry gave this heroic witness to the indissolubility of marriage by making clear to Herod that he was living in public and grave sin by living as a husband with his own brother’s wife who obviously was bound to marriage to his brother."
"Jeffrey: Should Cardinal Fisher be a model to Catholic priests and laymen today?"
"Cardinal Burke: Well, he certainly is for me. From the time I became a bishop, I have given special study to his life. But he’s a model for all priests and bishops and the lay faithful."
[https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/cardinal-burke-i-m-praying-very-fervently-coming-year-confusion-will]
Cardinal Burke said clearly defending the Faith like St. Fisher is his personal "model" as a cardinal supposedly no matter the cost to himself.
On December 16, 2016, Steve Skojec quoted the renowned Church historian Roberto de Mattei on the “grave responsibilities” of Cardinal Burke to "correct" Francis and "ascertain his renunciation of the pontificate, in the case of voluntary demission or of manifest and persistent heresy":
"De Mattei highlights the honors and “grave responsibilities” that rest on cardinals, and cites examples of their duty to fraternally correct the pope from both the 19th and 20th centuries. He examines the thought of certain medieval canonists on the question of papal infallibility and obstinate and public papal heresy, then instructs that:"
'The cardinals who elect the Pope do not have the authority to depose him, but may ascertain his renunciation of the pontificate, in the case of voluntary demission or of manifest and persistent heresy. In the tragic times of history, they must serve the Church, even until the shedding of blood, as the colour red indicates in the garments they wear and the formula at the imposition of the biretta “red as sign of the dignity of the Cardinalate, signifying that you must be ready to act with fortitude, even unto the shedding of blood, for the increase in the Christian Faith, for the peace and tranquility of the People of God and for the freedom and diffusion of Holy Mother Church.'”
[https://onepeterfive.com/cardinal-burke-corrects-errors-papal-defenders-de-mattei-sets-historical-stage-confrontation/]
Is Cardinal Burke going to be an enabler of the errors of Francis like all the bishops of England were enablers of the errors of the King except one in the days of Henry VIII or is he going to be like St. John Fisher?
Pray an Our Father now for the restoration of the Church as well as for the Triumph of the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Comments
When you consider how few have actually been martyred, it appears that they have.
Cardinal Burke, I’m afraid , is managed opposition. He has set the boundaries of licit dissent and
Serves as a relief valve for those who should’ve taken to the streets by now.
May I have the strength and faith and grace and wisdom to follow in the steps of St. John Fisher.
It is obviously quite hard, since there is not just normal self preservation in play but *diabolical opposition* whispering in our ears to “compromise just a little here ... a little there .... so much good can be done if you cut the corner just a little .... life is valuable so don’t throw it away for nothing ..... live to fight on .... martyrdom tomorrow .... be practical today”.
I gather it gets cloudy and difficult to see, if one is not careful.
Seeing what is happening to our Cardinals and Bishops is actually a cause for serious reflection: “what would I do”? We fight the devil on the path to martyrdom. He hates martyrs. Be ready. Pray now, so we will be ready and able to pray in our moment of trial. I do not wish to fail.