Pope Francis: Demotion of Burke not ‘punishment’

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Pope Francis has denied that removing American Cardinal Raymond Burke as head of the Vatican’s highest court was a “punishment” for his outspokenly conservative views at a recent summit of bishops, saying instead he wanted a “smart American” to serve as patron of the Order of Malta.

“It is not true that I removed him because of how he had behaved in the synod,” Francis said.

The pontiff said that the move was part of a broader restructuring of the Vatican bureaucracy that had been decided well before the October 5-19 synod of bishops on the family. The reason he waited until after the synod to make it official, he said, was so that Burke could still participate in the meeting as the head of a Vatican department.

cruxnow.com/church/2014/12/07/pope-francis-demotion-of-burke-not-punishment/?s_campaign=crux:email:ja
 
I can remember right back when that issue came to public light that all this was said but for some strange reason, people wanted to make out that Pope Francis was punishing Card. Burke for being a bad Synod boy. All very strange and telling about how some Catholics like to play.
 
How about a day in the future when everything the Holy Father does doesn’t get scrutinized by the press and then he gets expected to justify his words and actions to millions publicly. Wouldn’t it be nice if they said nice things about him instead?

Glenda
 
LongingSoul said:
I can remember right back when that issue came to public light that all this was said but for some strange reason, people wanted to make out that Pope Francis was punishing Card. Burke for being a bad Synod boy. All very strange and telling about how some Catholics like to play.
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Some conservatives thought that. And I have to admit that some doubt entered my thinking. But the media was reporting it that way, and liberal Catholics believed it and were gloating about it.
 
livingwordunity said:
Some conservatives thought that. And I have to admit that some doubt entered my thinking. But the media was reporting it that way, and liberal Catholics believed it and were gloating about it.
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Once the media started reporting it that way I figured it wasn’t true.

Burke made his views on the Synod issues well known long before the Synod. And the Pope here talks about delaying the announcement so Burke could participate.

So the Pope wanted Burke and his viewpoint there.

Plus Burke had been in his former position about as long as most people are there.
 
Nelka said:
Oh!

😊
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The “demotion” being discussed is that he was removed from his spot in the Apostolic Signatura which is a fairly influential spot, and was moved to being the representative to the Order of Malta, which is essentially a ceremonial post.

Whether you consider it a “demotion” depends on how you look at it.
 
The question isn’t whether he was demoted it iss whether Pope Francis gave Cardinal Burke the new position because of Cardinal Burke’s views. I believe Pope Francis on the timeline of the change but that doesn’t necessarily disprove this being related to the cardinals outspokenness which happened before the synod too.
 
i think Burke was moved to the (name removed by moderator), because, as part of the coming reforms, the Court will be restructured (as per comments made my Cardinal Madriaga), and that will be easier with the Prefect moved out of the way.
 
Yes, this is all very mysterious. Sounds to me like Francis and Burke need to sit down and chat with some coffee and croissants. Clear the air. I like Francis’ point about how he made it clear to Burke that he wanted him at the Synod and that the re-assignment would take place after the Synod. Sounds like a key point in Francis’ favor. (I hope that is in this article; I haven’t looked at the link; I saw it somewhere recently.) All the same, this new assignment does take Burke out of pretty influential circles, so you have to wonder about that.

But, again, if Francis wanted him at the Synod…??
 
Can everyone please keep in mind that the average length of time any one man served in that position was at most five years and Burke was in it for six. He was over-due to be moved on so someone else could warm the seat. The Pope himself defended the man and it isn’t a punishment at all. Please stop spinning the media’s spin on it and stick to the facts.

Glenda
 
How about we have trust in the Holy Father, and in the Holy Spirit. The Lord is still in control of His Church. 🙂
 
kyrieliberame7 said:
i think Burke was moved to the (name removed by moderator), because, as part of the coming reforms, the Court will be restructured (as per comments made my Cardinal Madriaga), and that will be easier with the Prefect moved out of the way.
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This is an interesting theoriy, but if true I wouldn’t Francis relieve the prefect of his post concurrently with restructuring the tribunal, not immediately appoint a replacement prefect?
 
boar2roar said:
The question isn’t whether he was demoted it is whether Pope Francis gave Cardinal Burke the new position because of Cardinal Burke’s views. I believe Pope Francis on the timeline of the change but that doesn’t necessarily disprove this being related to the cardinals outspokenness which happened before the synod too.
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Exactly.
canis73 said:
He wasn´t demoted even though some catholics felt he was. Some people are oversensitive these days 😃
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He was also booted from the Congregation for Bishops several months ago. I’m sure that wasn’t a demotion either, but actually a vote of confidence freeing him from a pesky obligation so he could be more influential in his other roles.:rolleyes:
FollowChrist34 said:
Sounds to me like Francis and Burke need to sit down and chat with some coffee and croissants. Clear the air.
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It’s my understanding that Francis informed Burke in person about his reassignment, so I don’t think there is any need for them to sit down again - I assume each knows where the other stands. The air that is unclear is not between the two bishops, but out in the real world, where neither Francis nor Burke has given any more reasoning behind the move. There is no particular reason that either should share this with the media.
glendab said:
How about a day in the future when everything the Holy Father does doesn’t get scrutinized by the press
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Part of the media’s job is to analyze likely reasons for the actions of world leaders, and there is nothing wrong with them doing so here.
 
ARSpade said:
Burke made his views on the Synod issues well known long before the Synod. And the Pope here talks about delaying the announcement so Burke could participate.

So the Pope wanted Burke and his viewpoint there.
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Yet, he won’t be at Synod '15 which is where the real fireworks will take place…? 🤷 Doesn’t make sense to me, but what do I know?
 
Hello Digitonomy.
Digitonomy said:
…Part of the media’s job is to analyze likely reasons for the actions of world leaders, and there is nothing wrong with them doing so here.
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That is true, but if you aren’t a member of the the Press and are a faithful Catholic, why would you want to further the distortions their “analysis” is for them? If you are a member of the Press and you come here, isn’t it fair to identify oneself as such so it won’t seem as if you have an ulterior motive for “chatting” here? It just seems to me that some folks fall into lock-step with certain ideologies that the Press furthers too easily and will, without completely thinking through the result of their repeat-after-me the ill will of many in the Press.

Glenda
 
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