Interview with Raymond Cardinal Burke.
Dubia: What was the main reason you the four cardinals made the dubia public?
V. Let us pray for Raymond Cardinal BurkeR. May he stand firm and care for us in the strength of the Lord, in the might of thy name, O Lord.
Dubia: What was the main reason you the four cardinals made the dubia public?
Because there is so much confusion in the
Church about fundamental questions which are defined with regard to intrinsic
moral evil, with regard to Holy Communion and the right disposition to receive
Holy Communion and regarding the indissolubility of marriage.
There is so much confusion that we, first of
all, asked the Holy Father to clarify please these questions, these fundamental
questions. We limited our request to those four questions in the dubia. When
there was no response, because so many people were saying to us: “But why do
you cardinals not do you duty and teach clearly about this matters?”, we knew
that we had to let the people know about the dubia. Yes, we are trying our
best, we are trying to receive from the Holy Father the direction which the
Church needs right now. Because there is a very dangerous confusion and also,
with the confusion, come divisions.
Priests against priests, and disagreements
among fellow catholics about whether you are able to receive the Sacraments, if
you live in an unvalid marriage union. We even find disagreements among the
Bishops, and this should not be…This is not for the good of the Church.
Why only four cardinals signed the dubia?
I can tell you there are more than four
cardinals who support the dubia, but for various reasons they do not want to
say so publicly. The four cardinals who signed the dubia, simply knew that it
was our duty, not thinking that we needed to have a certain number of cardinals
with us. We four knew we had to do this, and so we did it.
So you have private support from other
cardinals?
Yes.
What would you say to those who said that you
were challenging the Pope?
There is no challenge whatsoever to the Pope.
In fact, the practice of bringing dubia or questions to the Pope is a very
ancient practice in the Church, and the document showed respect for the Pope
who is leading the Church in a critical moment or in a time of confusion or in
a time even of error. So if you read the dubia, we are very respectful. We
don’t accuse the Holy Father of anything. We simply ask him for the benefit of
the Church to make these matters clear.
You spoke about some precedents of formal
correction to the Pope in the history of the Church…
I think, for example, of Pope John XXII who was
teaching wrongly about the Beatific Vision.
Certain bishops and theologians pointed this out to him. At first he
resisted their correction, but then, before he died, he did retract what he had
said that was in error.
There are other cases that are similar in the
history of the Church. Some are about major practical matters, even the
administration of temporal goods. For example, the Cardinals have gone to the
Holy Father and said to him, “in our judgement you are not administering well
the goods of the Church”, and then the Pope corrected himself.
Do you think there will be a formal public
correction to Pope Francis?
That it is not clear yet. Normally speaking,
before taking that step, the Cardinals would approach once again the Holy
Father personally to say: Holy Father, the matter is so grave that we must
correct it, and I trust that the Holy Father will respond at that moment.
But you don’t think that the Cardinal Müller’s
interview in Il Timone was an answer to Dubia?
I believe so. It certainly pertains very much
to the whole discussion, and it makes very clear what the Church is teaching
regarding such matters. I believe, but I do not know, since I have not talked
to Cardinal Müller, that the interview, is a pastoral effort, on his part, to
present the Church’s teaching clearly.
But the Pope hasn’t answered yet…
To my knowledge, not to me and I don’t think to
the others three cardinals. I don’t think he has given any answer.
What about the date of the formal correction?
I really cannot speak about that because it is
a matter which has to be approached with great respect and delicacy. And I do
not want to suggest a date that would in any way affect negatively the handling
of the matter or would show disrespect to anyone involved.
In the previous moments and after you published
the dubia, have you kept in contact wih the Emeritus Pope?
No, I have never spoken with him about the
dubia.
…
– Valileaks: The leaks spoke of 1.000 flats of
the Holy See throughout Rome. Do you believe that being the Church the biggest
landowner of the caput mundi takes away the credibility of its evangelical
message?
First of all, I don’t know the truth about
that. What I would say is this: I don’t think that, if Church owns the land, it
takes away credibility, but the way the land is administered will affect very
much the credibility of Church. In fact, having all these properties, the
Church could use them for many good purposes, but the administration has to be
strictly according to Church law. I am not saying it is not, but for my part,
the only scandal would be if that in some way these properties are not being
correctly managed.
Vatican diplomacy has changed so much in the
last years. How do you value that the Holy See treated as a “consort” the
homosexual lover of the President of Luxemburg?
I think something has to be done to address the
public image that is given by such acts. In the past, the Holy See simply, in a
very discreet and respectful way, refused to permit such a thing. We have to
return to that because by openly permitting this, the very strong impression is
given that now the Holy See approves such situations. So that has to be made
clear. I think too the terms for choosing those who are invited officially to
come and to speak to the conferences at the Holy See have to be clear. I don’t
understand how people who have openly opposed the Church and her teachings can
be invited to this kind of conference.
Like Paul Ehrlich…
Exactly, Paul Ehrlich…A prime example.
Yes but the one that was responsible for that
invitation was Cardinal Ravasi who wrote “Cari fratelli masoni” in Il Sole 24…
Yes, I haven’t read that book yet (Alberto
Bárcena: Masonería, religión y política) but whoever is responsible, is also
responsible to give an answer for that.
The letter of Cardinal Ravasi?
I haven’t read that letter. I didn’t read it,
but I heard about it.
Islam: Cardinal Sarah warned of two threats,
Islam and gender: Do you believe that Islam is suitable with the coexistence in
the Western World?
I share Cardinal Sarah’s concern. These are the
two great threats of the present time. I am also very strong in my conviction
that one of the prime ways to address them is through education. We have to
make sure that in our schools and our universities the truth is been taught.
Both about human nature itself and the whole
question of gender which is a completely artificial creation of a certain
ideology. And also that the truth be taught about Islam. The nature of Islam is
a form of goverment. By its own beliefs or principles it intends to govern the
world. And also about Allah. The figure of Allah in the Coran and in other
Islamic writings is completely different from the God of the Judaeo-Christian
faith.
What reasons for hope does a Catholic family
have in today’s world, marked by a culture of death and where gender ideology
is considered as the only truth about the human being?
Of course, there is reason for hope because
Christ is always giving his grace to individuals and to families. And this
whole situation can be transformed through individuals and families. I travel a
great deal now to various parts of the world. In America and everywhere I go I
find good young people and good young families and other families who maybe are
not young but are very committed Catholic families. This gives me hope, because
the more that we can encourage one another to be faithful in Jesus Christ, then
the world can be transformed.
What advice would you give to these Catholic
families who want their children to grow in freedom?
My advice would be to make prayer, especially
the Holy Eucarist and regular confession, the center of family life, to pay
very careful attention to educate their children clearly in the teachings of
the Church and in the moral law, and thirdly to work together with other
families to encourage one another and to become a great force for good in the
world.
The Pope made a statement that from now on, the
weddings celebrated by the priests from the FSSPX are going to be recognised
I did not read that yet. That is a very
significant action of the Holy Father, and it also indicates that in someway
there must be a reconciliation of the FSSPX because basically what the Pope is
saying is that the priests in this society, when they witness marriages, are
exercising jurisdiction in the Roman Catholic Church. So that is very
interesting.
Do you think the personal prelature is a good
way for the reconciliation?
I believe it could be a very effective way for
the reconciliation.
Would it be great news?
Yes. I pray for it, and I hope that it will
come about. But the reconciliation of course has to be based on a common
understanding. We cannot just simply will it. In other words, if there is not a
common understanding, what we reconcile will result in all sort of conflicts
and difficulties. We have to make sure that there it is a common understanding
in regard to all the questions which, in the past, the FSPPX has had about the
Church, the Holy See and the direction of the Catholic Church.
