Card. Burke’s interview in ‘La Verità”: More Cardinals are completely with the Four

Lots of lefties are hopping up and down in little circles because the Four Cardinals (Burke, Caffara, Meisner, Brandmueller) offered Five Dubia (questions, narrowly framed, asking for yes or no clarificatory responses) arising from the objective lack of clarity in Chapter 8 of Amoris laetitia.  As these catholic libs, chimp-like, fling their stuff around, Card. Burke continues to give interviews in an attempt to bring sobriety to the debate.

Today I saw an interview dated 11 January in the Italian publication La Verità.  Card. Burke is asked some tough questions and he gives straight on answers.  Asked whether they are “inventing” a way to correct formally the Pope, Burke answered “Of course not.”  But he points out that, in the past, Popes have been corrected.  He sustains that it is an “error” to say that, in certain cases, the divorced and remarried living in more uxorio, can receive Communion.  He doesn’t think that that is a heresy, but an error:

“No, it seems to me that it can qualify as an error, but we are dealing with a complex situation.  Heresy is the obstinate denial or obstinate doubt, on the part of the baptized, of a truth that one must believe by divine and Catholic faith.  One heresy could be that of one who sustains that there do not exist intrinsically evil acts; to affirm this would be to say something contrary to the doctrine of the Church and would clearly be a heresy.  The affirmation about access to the sacraments of which we were speaking a while ago, on the other hand, refers to a practice (prassi) that contradicts two doctrines: that of indissolubility of matrimony and that of the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.  At first glance we can say that certainly it’s an error.”

Card. Burke confirms that the Four Cardinals are united and that he knows many cardinals who are with them.

The accusations – open from some and veiled from … another – flung at them pretty much roll off his back.

In regard to the accusation that the Four are “doctors of the law” (an insult leveled by Pope Francis at those who resist antinomianism):

“It seems to me that the moral law isn’t something that imprisons a person; it is quite the opposite: the moral law frees a person and orients him to fulfill the good.  In fact, when there is no respect for moral law there come about chaotic situations and morally there results a kind of imprisonment.  For people of faith, we have to say that the divine law frees, and it is not a negative thing.  And then to teach moral law is a great act of charity towards one’s neighbor, because it points to the path of authentic freedom and happiness.  It is impossible to affirm that a person can find some form of happiness in  sinning.”

He was asked:

Q: Why so much noise for a problem that many have a hard time understanding?

BURKE: We are dealing here with a question that concerns the Church in a profound way: matrimony and family, which is its fruit, and they constitute the foundation of the very life of the Church.  Our task is not to lose ourselves in difficult or vague questions; we are simply giving our contribution to the growth of the Church in the most elementary cell of life.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
This entry was posted in One Man & One Woman, Our Catholic Identity and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

20 Comments

  1. Absit invidia says:

    Of all the Works of Mercy the Church has identified, the Spiritual Works of Mercy are the most neglected in our poorly catechized culture and poorly catechized Church. How can one perform a spiritual work of mercy unless you know your Faith? – even at the risk of being labeled by progressives as “doctors of the law.” Moreover, The Holy Family at the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple didn’t rebuke their Divine Son for being a “doctor of the law.”

  2. Joseph-Mary says:

    Our Lord Himself said for our no to mean no and our yes to mean yes…more than that from the evil one. So it is not that something is sin in one case and the same thing not a sin in another. Our consciences are not always correct. Certainly I know of cohabitators whose conscience does not bother them one bit: they luv each other you know. In the many years between my confessions, once upon a time, and being also in a state of mortal sin, my conscience did not twinge a bit! Our society and culture champions sin! It protects, promotes and provides for it. Many consciences are dead. And many simply do not know right from wrong….as many have said: No one calls sin, a sin anymore.

    Cardinal Burke knows how to say yes and no. I look to him and trust him.

  3. FranzJosf says:

    Having been raised Presbyterian, I learned lots of Bible verses (KJV) in Sunday School. I remember thinking to myself of Psalm 119:97, “Why should I love thy law? It’s a lot of rules that I don’t like.” It wasn’t until I was older, having read Shakespeare and lived a little, and gained a better understanding of human nature, that I realized that without boundaries there is no freedom. If I’m ruled by desire and passion, I’m ruled! And I and those around me are forced to put up with the accompanying fallout. But with the ability to choose to follow God’s will, I find inner peace, free of the turbulence caused by being a slave to self-centered desire. Being ruled be desire forces one to lie and betray. In addition to hurting others, it creates inner turbulence, rather than the peace that passeth understanding. (Surely Pope Francis understands this, doesn’t he?)

    A little further down the Psalm we get: 103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. (Indeed!)

  4. IHSV says:

    “One heresy could be that of one who sustains that there do not exist intrinsically evil acts; to affirm this would be to say something contrary to the doctrine of the Church and would clearly be a heresy. The affirmation about access to the sacraments of which we were speaking a while ago, on the other hand, refers to a practice (prassi) that contradicts two doctrines: …”

    Ok so Burke is saying that the pope is not teaching heresy because his teachings contradict two doctrines rather than just one?
    Uh-huh…

    Of course the play is to beat around the bush, bide time, and give people the chance to save face/prevent scandal before explicitly condemning the pope et al of heresy and schism. Amazing stuff. Really, really amazing. Buckle up folks.

  5. Deo volente says:

    This was from Edward Pentin published in the NC Register yesterday. He states 30 Cardinals saw an advanced draft of Amoris Laetitia and requested changes.

  6. Benedict Joseph says:

    One reads and is nourished by the wisdom rendered here by Cardinal Burke, and wrestles with the confections conjured up by those who hold contrary notions – and you are dumbstruck. How could any reasonable adult, Christian adult, let alone ordained Roman Catholics find fault with the clarity of thought offered by Cardinal Burke?
    Within the Barque there is the spirit of madness. To acquiesce to it under the cover of obedience and submission to lawful authority appears counterproductive and unacceptable. The camouflage need be unmasked and boldly. Life in the ecclesiastical sandbox rolls on while the eternal destiny of souls is at risk – those subjected to false teaching as well as those who propagate it.
    Given, prudence is essential while engaging with the dilemma at hand, but how much longer can this go on without even graver consequences than we are already witnessing?
    And to think all of this was festering during the pontificates of Pope Saint John Paul and Pope Benedict. Where was the discretion? What was operative in their reasoning as this was flourishing in the field? Is it any longer possible to separate the wheat from the weeds when those gifted for the task appear unable to determine the difference?
    That this is of apocalyptic proportions can no longer be denied by anyone.

  7. wised says:

    Ever notice when you are playing poker that the one with the winning cards is the one who seems a bit more confident. I would not want to play poker with Cardinal Burke.

  8. THREEHEARTS says:

    mike hurcum writes…
    I have had so many conversations with many catholics (note the small “c”). In fact one parish priest used to give me their names and send me to speak to them. He is long gone to his reward and so I can write this. I had many arguments with those who had professed to being catholic and had not confessed as one woman said of the practice of her catholicism., “It was thirty years since my last confession. Another said you are not a priest go away. Many said this, ” I feel completely at peace over my life style”. My answer and yours should be and I speak from experience. When the devil has you he leaves you alone but when you are God’s the evil of filth never gives up on you and his attention to you and the example you give to others drives him frantic. Look at the world of catholics today and think not long now when comes the time for God to take action. This is truly coming. Rest assured He is soon to act. That is why there are so many obstinate foolish opinions floating around the Churn today. The evil of filth is panicking and working harder than ever to drag good willed Catholics in the kingdom of hatred, despair, the loss of Love and Charity, taking us into a eternal Life of obstinate foolishness. O how it will hurt band we will be full mof self hatred in eternity if we surrender to his wickedness. . I have been in both places both sinner and tempted.
    Please learn from my experience.

  9. TimG says:

    @ Joseph-Mary
    I too was in a similar state for many years. I echo your thoughts on all fronts. Well said!!!

  10. The Masked Chicken says:

    ” And many simply do not know right from wrong….as many have said: No one calls sin, a sin anymore.”

    How does one change this without defeating liberalism?

    The Chicken

  11. Benedict Joseph says:

    Well said, Joseph-Mary. Like you I had a life living on the long leash, but I did have a bad conscience. That said, that well bred conscience from Catholic grammar and high school was hijacked by enlightened “higher” Catholic education. I could rationalize the sixth commandment into saw dust. But child can foreshadow the man, and a good Franciscan priest in NYC cut me short on my rationalizations one day with this simple sentence : “You know that is not true.” He was right, I did know my rationalizations were not true. And a new life began.
    I wonder how many ecclesiastics know their rationalizations, grounded in the speculative confections fortifying self-justification are not true. I believe almost all of them know that, but it takes a little courage — not much really if I could do it — available freely by God’s grace — to leap out of the shallow pot of self-deception.

  12. Charles E Flynn says:

    The accusations roll right off Cardinal Burke’s cappa magna.

  13. LDP says:

    And as we speak yet more anti-Burke drivel is being spewed out, this time from the most liberal, left-wing UK broadsheet newspaper: the Guardian. Note the quotes that the reporter chooses to include:

    ‘“Burke is becoming a real thorn in the side of the pope. I suspect he is driving this [firing of Boeselager] and it is part of his obsession with sexual morality, as if this is the decisive feature of what it means to be Catholic and faithful to Jesus Christ when in fact scriptures say very little on these matters,” said Robert Mickens, a veteran Rome-based Vatican journalist.’

    ‘Ivereigh said the dispute was exposing deep differences between Francis’s Vatican and the Maltese order. “You are dealing here with a very profound culture clash within the Catholic church. Burke and the Knights of Malta represent in many ways everything that the church of the second Vatican council and Francis have been seeking to get away from,” he said.’

    The link: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/11/knights-of-malta-condom-scandal-stretches-from-myanmar-to-the-vatican

  14. Kathleen10 says:

    I’m more than a little muted by what we are witnessing. It is almost beyond words. I’m stunned that we were chosen to be alive during the time when this is unfolding. For good or ill, here we are.
    God, sustain your faithful and bring the remedy.

  15. Mike says:

    Of course the play is to beat around the bush, bide time, and give people the chance to save face/prevent scandal before explicitly condemning the pope et al of heresy and schism.

    Not exactly. At The Remnant, John Salza gives a thorough explanation of the process of fraternal correction to which the Pope’s refusal to respond to the dubia would be a prelude. Mr. Salza’s discussion may leave the reader unsettled but should also be reassuring as it goes into detail about the consequences of various actions and inactions on the part of the Holy Father. (Because Mr. Salza is not a canon lawyer, I’d be interested in canonist Dr. Ed Peters’ take on his article.)

  16. amenamen says:

    Five Dubia (questions, narrowly framed, asking for yes or no clarificatory responses)

    I an old episode of “I Love Lucy”, Little Ricky gives me an idea.

    The Five Answers have a great rhythm.
    NO. YES.
    YES, YES, YES!

    NO. YES.
    YES, YES, YES!

    I think it could be a catchy little song to sing at papal audiences. Bring a drum.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=issMsCGqnBw

  17. arga says:

    Card. Burke, you are a stupendous gift to the Church. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

  18. AnnTherese says:

    Kathleen10, I feel exactly the same way!!

  19. Nan says:

    Anyone want to join me in praying for Card. Burke? He needs our prayers and support. I offer my Wed. fast from meat for his support; Friday is to foster vocations. He’s such a lovely priest. Yeah, I know; a Cardinal is but a priest with three upgrades.

  20. Clemens Romanus says:

    I love that episode!

Comments are closed.