I'm beginning to get the impression that our holy father, Pope Francis, doesn't like America much.
He removed Bishop Joseph Strickland of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, for contrary thinking on a variety of topics, including LGBTQ issues and de-emphasizing the abortion issue. Strickland was creating "disunity" within the Church.
Now, Francis has kicked retired American Cardinal Raymond Burke out of his Vatican digs and stopped paying his salary. Not very charitable of "Christ's representative on earth." But his reason for doing so was exactly the same as his reason for canning Bishop Strickland. Burke was a "source of disunity" within the Church.
It should be noted that the pope is more than just a boss. He's the Vicar of Christ on Earth. Opposing him, in theory, is like opposing Jesus.
But past popes have suffered opposition with varying degrees of tolerance. St. John Paul II tolerated "liberation theology" even though he condemned it.
Pope Francis seems to be far less tolerant of bishops who adhere to beliefs the Church used to promote about abortion, LGBTQ issues, and other controversial matters that Francis has unilaterally changed.
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Cardinal Burke was far more respectful of Francis in his opposition, unlike Strickland who used social media to mock Francis on occasion.
The 75-year-old has become prominent in Catholic media over the past few years because of his consistent criticisms of decisions made under the current pope.
His outspoken objections are always tempered, however, by affirmations that he is loyal to Francis and that the pontiff is not his "enemy."
Pope Francis’ predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI named Burke as a cardinal in 2010.
Since 2016, Burke has been stripped of honors and multiple offices, including his position in the Congregation for Divine Worship and his patronage of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
While the demotions continue to be stripped away slowly, Burke has largely remained silent on the matter and refused to entertain characterizations of hostility toward the Holy See.
Importantly, Francis is telling Burke, Strickland, and other conservative American churchmen that there's only one way to think about these important issues, and that's his way. When Burke and a few other American cardinals sent a letter to Francis seeking clarification on the traditional outlook of the church on divorced Catholics, they received no answer.
"It’s unfortunately clear that the invocation of the Holy Spirit by some has the aim of bringing forward an agenda that is more political and human than ecclesial and divine," Burke said at the meeting of bishops.
Bishop Strickland, himself a target of the wrath of Francis, couldn't believe that Francis had not only fired Cardinal Burke but stopped paying his salary.
On Tuesday, Strickland turned to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to express shock about reports of Francis taking action against Burke.
"If this is inaccurate it is an atrocity that must be opposed," Strickland said. "If it is false information, it needs to be corrected immediately."
The AP added that Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni did not deny the reports about Francis’ decision but referred questions to Burke.
"I don’t have anything particular to say about that," Bruni told reporters.
By definition, the pope is an autocrat. But punishing dissent against policies that, at one time, were considered Church practice isn't autocratic. It's dictatorial.
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