The de facto head of the resistance to the Francis agenda has been silent since he was disciplined by Pope Francis, the release of the new same sex blessing document, and being called to meet with the pope. Meanwhile traditional Catholics are waiting to hear again from Cardinal Burke.
Burke knows the agenda will continue to unfold, the Church needing cardinals and bishops to lead the resistance, as he first did at the Synod on the Family, and that if he fades into the shadows that will only hurt this resistance movement and enable the further auto-demolition of the Church.
We should pray and offer our penances he doesn’t do this, but stands up even more boldly. What can they do to him realistically if he does? Take away his entire pension? Remove him from the college of cardinals? As long as he acts within his rights and duties, he can stand rightly before God, and surely benefactors would support him if he lost his pension.
After Burke was called to meet with Pope Francis he was asked how it went, and all he said was “I’m still alive,” which indicated he was being reprimanded, and likely for being the de facto head of this resistance movement. I imagine he was told or warned to stop what he has been doing or else he’ll be punished more.
My interpretation of Burke is he very much doesn’t want any disunity between himself and the pope, no matter the doctrinal problems, to even give the impression of a schismatic rebellion or the impression he is the leader of such a rebellion. His temperament seems much more reserved than say an Archbishop Lefebvre.
I like Cardinal Burke. I don’t support his view that Vatican II in itself was not the problem but it’s implementation, or his over-the-top critical statements about the SSPX, but he is the most traditional Cardinal and one of the top five most traditional bishops. We owe a lot to him for his works on behalf of Tradition.
Cardinal Burke, if by chance you were to read this, God knows exactly why you are now being silent. There’s many factors we don’t know. But I hope you continue to fight the good fight for the Catholic Faith.