Archbishop Raymond Burke, Defender of the Catholic Faith, to be Elevated to the Honor of Cardinal

'We find self-professed Catholics who sustain and support the 'right' of a woman to procure the death of the infant in her womb'

'Under the constant influence of a rationalist and secularist philosophy which makes man, instead of God, the ultimate measure of what is right and good, many have become confused about the most basic truths, for example, the inviolable dignity of innocent human life, from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death, and the integrity of marriage between one man and one woman as the first and irreplaceable cell of the life of society. If Christians fail to articulate and uphold the natural moral law, then they fail in the fundamental duty of patriotism, of loving their country by serving the common good.'

P>VATICAN CITY (Catholic Online) - Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke, the Archbishop Emeritus of Saint Louis, serves as the Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura. In effect, he functions as the "Chief Justice" of the Catholic Church's International Judicial System. His history as a defender of orthodoxy and orthopraxy in the Catholic Church is well known. His unapologetic defense of the obligation of Catholics in public life to be morally coherent is equally well known.

He is a true defender of the Catholic Faith, unafraid to correct those Catholics in public service who cause scandal. In an age where infidelity and cowardice has too often been reflected in the behavior of some Catholic public servants, Archbishop Burke stands ready to correct and admonish.  Archbishop Burke's apostolic gift of teaching the fullness of that Catholic Faith was recently demonstrated in a superb address he gave at the World Prayer Congress for Life. The Congress was sponsored by Human Life International in Rome. The address was entitled "Catholic Orthodoxy: Antidote Against the Culture of Death" 

His selection by Pope Benedict XVI to head the Supreme Tribunal of the Catholic Church was properly viewed as an affirmation of his gifts and an expression of complete papal confidence in his judgment. This certainly applies to his public expression of the proper application of the teaching of the Church by Catholics in public service and political office. His selection by Pope Benedict XVI as one of only two Bishops from the United States to be elevated to the position of Cardinal further affirms that Archbishop Burke speaks with the clear support and knowledge of Pope Benedict XVI. 

Upon receiving news of his selection, this courageous man issued the following statement: "I am deeply humbled and honored by the announcement that His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI intends to name me to the College of Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church at the Consistory which he has convoked for this coming November 20th. Having received the news of the Holy Father's intention, I express my deepest gratitude to His Holiness for the great confidence which he has placed in me, and I renew my commitment to serve Him, as Shepherd of the universal Church, in total fidelity and with all my being.

"Considering the weighty responsibilities of the members of the College of Cardinals in assisting the Holy Father as his closest co-workers, even "to the shedding of blood," I am more than ever conscious of my own weakness and of my total dependence upon the help of divine grace, in order that I may fulfill worthily and generously the responsibilities which will be mine, God willing, as a Cardinal of the Church.

"I count upon the continued intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Communion of Saints, and the prayers of the many faithful whom I have been blessed to serve as priest and Bishop, especially in my home diocese, the Diocese of La Crosse, and in the Archdiocese of Saint Louis, and of those with whom I have been, in the past, and am now privileged to serve in the Roman Curia, especially my co-workers at the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura. Only the knowledge of God's immeasurable and unceasing outpouring of mercy and love from the glorious pierced Heart of Jesus gives me the confidence to accept the great honor and burden which His Holiness intends to confer upon me.

"Today's announcement turns my thoughts with deepest affection and gratitude to my late parents and all my family, living and deceased; and to the priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful who have assisted me to know my vocation to the Holy Priesthood and to respond to it with an undivided heart over the more than thirty-five years of my priestly life and ministry. Today, with all my heart, I humbly thank God for the gifts of life, of the Catholic faith, and of my vocation.

"At the same time, my thoughts naturally turn to the many challenges which the Church faces in our day in carrying out her divine mission for the salvation of the world. In particular, I am deeply conscious of the critical importance of the loving witness of the Church to the truth, revealed to us by God through both faith and reason, which alone is our salvation. It is a witness which Our Holy Father tirelessly gives with remarkable wisdom and courage. I pledge myself anew to assist Pope Benedict XVI in this critical witness and in the many works of his pastoral charity on behalf of all our brothers and sisters in the Church and in the world.

"I ask for prayers that I may be able to assist our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI to the best of my ability and with every ounce of my strength. I, once again, place my whole heart, together with the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, into the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. In the glorious pierced Heart of Jesus, I am confident that I will find the purification, courage and strength which I will need to carry out the new responsibilities to be confided into my hands. I thank, in advance, all who will pray for me, and ask God to bless them abundantly."

He began his address at the World Congress sponsored by Human Life International with these salient insights: "It is clear that we are presently experiencing a period of intense and critical struggle in the advancement of the culture of life in the world. Many governments and international organizations openly and aggressively follow a secularist, anti-life and anti-family agenda. Even though religious language may be used and the name of God invoked, programs and policies are proposed for the people without respect for God and His Law, in the words of the Venerable Pope John Paul II, "as if God did not exist. ."

Archbishop Burke is a hero to millions of Catholics. I am numbered among them.  At Catholic Online we have regularly affirmed his admonishment of those Catholics in public life who have been unfaithful to their Baptismal vocation. As we approach midterm elections in the United States of America and enter one of the earliest Presidential primary seasons in modern history, his selection as a Cardinal of the Church sends another strong message to Catholics running for public office. They must do so in a manner which reflects what Pope Benedict XVI recently called "morally coherence" in the face of what he also called a "Dictatorship of Relativism."

Another selection from the Archbishop - now Cardinal designate - in the same address makes the duty of Catholics in public service and political office crystal clear:

"Regarding the Magisterium and public life, there has developed in many places the false notion that the Christian or any person of faith, in order to be a true citizen of his nation, must bracket his faith life from his public life. According to such a notion, one ends up with Christians, for example, who claim personally to be faithful members of the Church and, therefore, to hold to the demands of the natural moral law, while they sustain and support the right to violate the moral law in its most fundamental tenets.

"We find self-professed Catholics, for example, who sustain and support the right of a woman to procure the death of the infant in her womb, or the right of two persons of the same sex to the recognition which the State gives to a man and a woman who have entered into marriage. It is not possible to be a practicing Catholic and to conduct oneself publicly in this manner.

"While the Church does not propose the imposition of purely confessional practices on the general population, it must foster the teaching and upholding of the moral law, common to all men, which is at the heart of every true religion. What kind of government would require that its citizens and political leaders act without reference to the fundamental requirements of the moral law?

"While true religion teaches the natural moral law, the observance of the moral law is not a confessional practice. It is rather a response to what is inscribed in the depths of every human heart. Religious faith plainly articulates the natural moral law, enabling men of faith to recognize more readily what their own human nature and the nature of things demand of them, and to conform their lives to the truth which they recognize. For that reason, governments, in the past, have acknowledged the importance of religious faith for the life of the nation. The laws of many nations, in fact, aimed to protect the teaching and practice of religious faith for the sake of the common good..

"In the present situation of our world, the Christian faith has a critical responsibility to articulate clearly the natural moral law and its demands. Under the constant influence of a rationalist and secularist philosophy which makes man, instead of God, the ultimate measure of what is right and good, many have become confused about the most basic truths, for example, the inviolable dignity of innocent human life, from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death, and the integrity of marriage between one man and one woman as the first and irreplaceable cell of the life of society. If Christians fail to articulate and uphold the natural moral law, then they fail in the fundamental duty of patriotism, of loving their country by serving the common good."

We add our congratulations to the support from the faithful around the world for the selection of Archbishop Raymond Burke as a Cardinal. We pledge our prayer on his behalf as he responds to this new invitation of grace. We encourage our readers to do the same. We will be regularly reporting on Catholics running for political office and currently in public service as this vital election season continues.

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