He Pope Francisco announced that it will evict American Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, openly critical of its management, from his residence in the Vatican and will withdraw his salary.
Burke He is part of a group of American conservatives who have long They oppose the Pope’s plans to reform the Catholic Church.
A source of Vatican told the BBC that the Pope Francisco The eviction of the 75-year-old ecclesiastic has not yet been made effective.
He added that the decision is not intended as a personal punishment and is based on the belief that a person should not enjoy cardinal privileges while criticizing the head of the Church.
“Set a new precedent”
Pope Francis had never before evicted a senior leader of the Church. (GETTY IMAGES).
Still, the move is “unprecedented in the Francis era,” Christopher White, a Vatican observer who writes for the BBC, told the BBC. National Catholic Reporter.
“In general, retired cardinals continue to reside in Rome after leaving officeand often remain active in papal liturgies and ceremonial duties,” White explained.
In this sense, he indicated that “evicting someone from their apartment in the Vatican sets a new precedent”.
White noted that the decision could “provoke a significant reaction” and deepen divisions between the Vatican and the American Church, where there is already “fragmentation.”
Cardinal Burke has not yet commented on the issue and the BBC has contacted his office for comment.
The Pope revealed his intention to take action against the cardinal in a meeting with Vatican heads of offices last week.
Maximum tension in the Church
:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/GQYTAMBNGEYS2MZQKQ2DQORUGE.jpg "Pope Francis' unprecedented decision to evict critical Cardinal Raymond Burke from his Vatican residence 1")
The Pope maintains a tense pulse with the most radical ecclesiastics. (GETTY IMAGES).
Francis’s frustration with his American detractors who take a more traditional or conservative view on various issues appears to be reaching a peak.
Earlier this month he fired Joseph Strickland, a conservative Texas bishop who had criticized his attempts to move the Church toward more progressive positions on abortion, transgender rights, and same-sex marriage. The dismissal came after a Church investigation into the management of the diocese.
A few months earlier, the Pope communicated to members of the Jesuit religious order in Portugal that there was “a very strong, organized and reactionary attitude” in the American Church. which he described as “backward”according to Guardian.
Tensions with Cardinal Burke, appointed by Pope Benedict XVI, have been simmering for almost a decade.
“Cardinal Burke’s situation seems to stem from his gradual distancing from the Pope,” White interpreted.
“Apparently, the Pope perceives that Burke promotes a cult of personality centered on traditionalism or regressive ideas. His action seems directed at limit Burke’s influence by cutting his ties with Rome“.
Michael Matt, columnist for the conservative Catholic newspaper The Remnantwrote that the recent action against Cardinal Burke shows that Francis is “canceling faithful prelates who offer hierarchical cover to pro-life, pro-family, pro-tradition hardliners.”
He accused the pontiff of subjecting his critics to “forced isolation.”
Who is Cardinal Burke?
:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/GQZTAMBNGEYS2MZQKQ2DQORUGM.jpg "Pope Francis' unprecedented decision to evict critical Cardinal Raymond Burke from his Vatican residence 2")
Burke represents the most conservative faction of the Catholic Church. (GETTY IMAGES).
Raymond Leo Burke is one of the most active opponents of the Pope within the Catholic Church.
A strict follower of the guidelines of Catholicism, Burke even told former US Secretary of State John Kerry when he was a presidential candidate that he could not receive communion because he had previously expressed his support for abortion.
The cardinal has dedicated much of his life to studying the laws of the Church and wants to ensure that they are strictly applied.
He believes that this Pope is playing dangerously with the 2,000-year-old Christian tradition and even threatened to issue a “correction act” against Francisco.
That would be a very bold, extremely unusual measure, something that has not happened in centuries.
The cardinal lives in a large apartment near St. Peter’s Square in Rome.
From that place, from which the Pope wants to evict him, he leads his operation to promote what it calls “doctrinal clarity”.
The two clashed six years ago over the dismissal of the leader of the Knights of Malta, an 11th-century religious congregation, after it was discovered that the order’s charitable branch had distributed condoms in Myanmar.
Burke joined his conservative peers in publishing a “statement of truths” in 2019, which described the Catholic Church as disoriented and confused under the leadership of Pope Francisarguing that it had strayed from fundamental teachings on divorce, contraception, homosexuality and gender.
In addition, he disagreed with Francisco promoting vaccines against covid.
More recently, last month, the cardinal held a conference called Synodal Babel in Rome on the eve of the pope’s synod – or meeting of bishops.
The Pope has demoted Cardinal Burke within the ecclesiastical hierarchy and relocated him to positions with less influence over the years.
