are what our town's trusty newspaper of record have to offer today on the Majerus/Burke media story. "Archbishop would deny Majerus Communion" is the headline, but there is nothing in the story that breaks any ground from yesterday. Even the headline is not supported by any particular quote from the Archbishop but only the reporters' assertion that His Grace told them so. (The photo above appears with the story on STLToday, with no attribution.)
This is a tiresome and predictable story that does nothing but provide a platform for the media and disaffected "Catholics" (you know, the "I went to 12 years of Catholic school but now I realize it's all a scam-types) to attack the Archbishop for being a Catholic Archbishop who takes his duties seriously.
The only thing new, and which comes as a total non-surprise, is the series of quotes from the various SLU employees who think Majerus' comments were no big deal. The funniest and most telling line in the story comes from Laura Willingham, research assistant at SLU's School of Medicine, who said, without any apparent irony, "If SLU wants to have a policy of, 'you have to be Catholic and believe the Catholic way,' SLU wouldn't exist."
Amen, sister.
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Note to Archbishop Burke:
By all means condemn a Catholic for not supporting the Church's "pro-life" teachings, but for God sakes make that include the following life issues as well - capital punishment, war, racism, sexism, discrimination against homosexuals (which is indeed against Catholic social teaching - CCC 2358), classism, torture and SO many more.
I would love for the Archbishop to publically condemn a soldier for torturing another human as quickly as he jumps to publically comdemn a celebrity for supporting abortion.
Note that the celebrity has not even been directly involved with performing an abortion, unlike a soldier who has tortured!
Do note that I would never suggest that ALL soldiers have tortured.
Anon, I will assume for purposes of this reply that your comment was serious and not meant as a goof, though I can't be sure.
Capital punishment is a type of criminal punishment that the constant teaching of the Church has held to be a legitimate right of the state. While it is true that Pope John Paul II, and through him the CCC, opines that in a modern society the times when the state would have need of this punishment are rare--perhaps even practically nonexistent-- and thus as a practical matter the Church opposes the modern captial punishment statutes. As an aside, so do I. But that is a far cry from abortion, which is always a grave moral evil. Surely you can see the difference.
As for your laundry list of -isms, "sins" of society that I have posted about before on this blog, well, it is hard to take your point seriously. Archbishop Burke has never said that racism was good. And who out there, claiming to speak as a Catholic like our priestess friends, has ever said so, that would make a public admonition by His Grace necessary? In short, nobody. If they did, I am quite sure we would hear from the Archbishop. Oh wait, maybe not, since the media and his opponents "in" the Church only want publicized that which would put him in a bad light.
Finally, of course torture is a grave moral evil. The Church's teaching on this is well-known. I think you are disappointed because the decision of the US to go to war in Iraq is a matter of prudential application of just war principles and as such is unlike abortion, which is again always a grave moral evil. I think the war does not meet the just war criteria. I think the Popes have said as much. But those Catholics who support the war as a matter of prudential application of moral principles are not equating the war with torture. Your brush is too broad.
How are things over at St. Cronan's? Geez.
Has a member of the Archbishop's flock come out and said, I'm a Roman Catholic and I torture folks? Of course, that hasn't happened. If it had, then it would be appropriate for the Archbishop to denounce that person.
Another question: what percentage of soldiers do you believe have tortured? Is it 70%, 80%, 99.9%?
"You're revolution is over, Lebowski! The bums lost! Now do what your parents did, get a job and attend a Traditional Latin Mass!" -The Big Lebowski (paraphrased)
His Excellency is the best...he needs our prayers now more than ever. May God accord him the grace to courageously continue to fight against the wolves.
St. Raymond, pray for him
St. Robert Bellarmine, pray for him
All you angels and saints of God, intercede for him...
EVERYTHING about this present was violates Catholic just war teaching.
Who can Archbishop challenge for SUPPORTING torture? President George W. Bush!
To be consistant here, the Coach did not say that he performed abortions, only that he supports abortion.
anon, there is a key difference: President Bush does not claim to be Catholic. Archbishop Burke is only exercising his pastoral jurisdiction over Catholics in his territory.
Abp. Burke has addressed the war issue via the USCCB and the Holy Father has also made Catholic concerns known. So, the analogy isn't apt.
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