Wisconsin
native Cardinal Raymond Burke calls for ‘new evangelization’
Burke greets people after celebrating Mass
at Trinity Academy.
By Annysa Johnson
Pewaukee —
Catholic education, in the family and in schools, is essential to the
transformation of culture and a bulwark against today’s increasingly secular
society, Wisconsin native Cardinal Raymond Burke told hundreds of Catholics who
gathered Thursday for a fundraising dinner in Waukesha County.
And he called on Catholics to embark on a “new evangelization” that
stressed the common good.
“Without the recognition of the common good ... society breaks down and
is soon beset by the violence and destruction,” said Burke, who drew repeated
standing ovations from the crowd of nearly 300.
A theological conservative who has been critical of what some perceive
as the progressive leanings of Pope Francis, Burke said Catholics must resist
the secular culture’s “grievous attacks” on marriage and family, the
“aggressive homosexual agenda” and attacks on the innocent unborn.
“The Christian life, if lived with integrity today, is necessarily
countercultural,” Burke said.
Burke spoke at a $100-a-plate fundraiser for Trinity Academy, a
traditional Catholic school in Pewaukee founded and operated by Susan and Robin
Mitchell, who are longtime friends and supporters of the cardinal. The dinner
was part of a two-day visit that included a tour of the school and Mass for
students and faculty.
A Friday Mass will be open to the broader community and is expected to
draw, among others, a recent high-profile convert to Catholicism, U.S. Rep.
James Sensenbrenner.
Many gathered at the Country Springs Hotel in Pewaukee to see Burke, who
serves as an adviser to Trinity. Dozens waited in line for him to sign copies
of his new book, “Remaining in the Truth of Christ,” which is a collaboration
with four other conservative cardinals.
They greeted him reverentially, many calling him “your eminence” or bowing
to kiss his ring. One woman asked him to bless a holy medal and was overcome
with emotion as she walked away.
“He is such a beautiful person. Just to be in the same room with him is
a blessing,” said Lucia Roman of Sussex.
A defender of church teachings
Several said they respect Burke for upholding church
teachings on such issues as marriage and abortion as well as church traditions.
“Tradition is just as important as scripture,” said David Tennessen of
Shorewood, who attends St. Stanislaus Parish on Milwaukee’s south side that
offers the traditional Latin Mass. “We have a duty to uphold the traditions of
the church. We won’t have a church if we don’t.”
Burke, who was born in Richland Center, served as the Bishop of La
Crosse and archbishop of St. Louis before Pope Benedict XVI tapped him to head
the Vatican’s highest court, the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura,
in 2008. Burke is considered an expert on canon law.
Burke has emerged in recent years as the standard-bearer for the
theologically conservative wing of the Catholic Church. He is outspoken in his
views; he has long maintained, for example, that pro-abortion rights
politicians should be denied communion.
Burke bolstered that reputation at the recent Synod of Bishops on the
Family in Rome, where he joined other conservatives in rejecting efforts to
change teaching — and in some cases, just tone — on how the church responds to
gay relationships, marriage, divorce and contraception.
In the wake of the synod, he has amplified his criticism, likening the
church to a “rudderless ship” under the current pontiff in a recent interview.
Burke has been twice demoted since the former archbishop of Buenos Aires
succeeded Pope Benedict in March 2013.
Removed from post
Last year, Francis removed Burke from an influential
panel that helps select American bishops. Last month, Burke was removed from
the curia, or Vatican bureaucracy, with his demotion from the Vatican court to
the largely ceremonial position as patron of the Knights of Malta.
Vatican watchers have debated whether the moves were punitive or meant
to silence Burke.
Author and longtime Vatican journalist John Thavis sees them as neither.
Thavis said it is not unusual for a new pontiff to bring in his own
people, and that Francis still has critics in the curia.
“The pope wants those people to be part of the discussion in the
church,” said Thavis, author of “The Vatican Diaries,” who blogs at www.johnthavis.com.
He does not believe the moves would likely silence Burke.
“I expect that he will keep speaking his mind. He certainly never
hesitated in the past, and I don’t think his new job came with a gag order,” he
said. “On the other hand, his influence is lessened.”
Burke will no longer have an automatic seat at key Vatican meetings,
according to Thavis. And some have questioned whether he will be invited to
take part in next year’s follow-up to the Synod of Bishops on the Family.
In his remarks Thursday, Burke quoted extensively from the writings of
Pope John Paul II — whose name elicited applause from the crowd — and Pope
Benedict XVI. He did not reference Francis directly, or the controversy
surrounding the Synod of Bishops.
His reference to spiritual “seasickness,” which echoed his recent
remarks he made about Francis to a Spanish newspaper, drew quiet laughter in
some parts of the room.
A believer in education
Burke spoke about the role of Catholic schools and
families to lay the moral foundation for children, and as such, for society.
Catholic school enrollment nationally has fallen dramatically over the
last half century, from a peak of 5.2 million students in the 1960s to 1.9
million today, according to the National Catholic Education Association.
In the 10-county Archdiocese of Milwaukee, enrollment is 31,619, down
from 32,193 in 2011.
Founded in 1997, Trinity operates independently of the Archdiocese of
Milwaukee, although when now-Cardinal Timothy Dolan was archbishop, he
consecrated the chapel. The
school educates 175 students in grades kindergarten through 12.
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