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| Vatican Official Slams 'Obstinate Betrayal' of Nuns, Catholic Health Association |
| 2010-04-13 |
| Catholic consecrated religious who openly dissent from the authority of Rome and the church's teaching on life are "an absurdity of the most tragic kind" and should cease identifying themselves as Catholic, said Archbishop Raymond Burke, the head of Rome's Apostolic Signatura. The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church (apart from the Pope himself, who is the supreme ecclesiastical judge). In addition, it oversees the administration of justice in the Church. Burke gave the remarks in his keynote address Friday at the Institute for Religious Life's national meeting at Mundelein Seminary in Illinois. The Institute also honored Burke with their Pro Fidelitate et Virtute Award at a celebration of the legacy of Servant of God Fr. John Hardon, SJ. In excerpts of the address published by Thomas Peters of the American Papist blog, Burke took a moment to express his exasperation with the defiance of Catholic religious sisters in the U.S. who supported the federal health care bill - a measure dubbed the most pro-abortion piece of legislation since Roe v. Wade, thanks to its vast expansion of government abortion funding. "Who could imagine that consecrated religious would openly, and in defiance of the bishops as successors of the apostles, publicly endorse legislation containing provisions which violated the natural moral law in its most fundamental tenets -- the safeguarding and promoting of innocence and defenseless life, and fail to safeguard the demands of the free exercise of conscience for health care workers?" Burke questioned. The Vatican official also severely criticized "public and obstinate betrayal of religious life by certain religious" towards Rome's ongoing apostolic visitation into U.S. religious orders. After the visitation began last spring, Sr. Sandra M. Schneiders of the Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary said in remarks published on the National Catholic Reporter that nuns should receive representatives of Rome "politely and kindly, for what they are, uninvited guests who should be received in the parlor, not given the run of the house." "Who ever could have imagined that religious congregations of pontifical right, would openly organize to resist and attempt to frustrate an apostolic visitation, that is, a visit to their congregations carried out under the authority of the vicar of Christ on earth, to whom all religious are bound by the strongest bonds of loyalty and obedience?" he asked. Abp. Burke indicated that the attitude of sisters towards the visitation represents "a growing tendency among certain consecrated religious to view themselves outside and above the body of Christ as a parallel institution looking in upon the Church with an autonomy which contradicts their very nature." "Religious life lived in the heart of the Church, and for that reason religious congregations are, by their very nature, bound in strictest loyalty to the Roman Pontiff," he said. "It is of course an absurdity of the most tragic kind to have consecrated religious knowingly and obstinately acting against the moral law. "The spiritual harm done to the individual religious who are disobedient and also the grave scandal caused to the faithful and people in general are of incalculable dimensions." Burke also directly challenged Sr. Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association, as well as Network, a pro-abortion lobby group of U.S. nuns, whose support for the bill the Obama administration openly acknowledged as critical to its success. "Was not the Speaker of the House [Nancy Pelosi] glowing to report that so many religious sisters were in support of her proposed health care plan?" he asked. "Was not a religious sister [Sr. Carol Keehan, President of CHA] one of the recipients of a pen used by the President of the United States to sign the health care plan into law? "Now is the time for us all, and in particular for consecrated persons to stand up for the truth and to call upon our fellow Catholics in leadership to do the same, or to cease identifying themselves as Catholics." |
| Posted by: Anonymoose |
| #11 I think you guys are missing the point. ABp Burke was calling in the dogs on these deviant religious Sisters, reminding them of their oaths to God, the Church and obedience to the Pope, and that each of their orders serves at the sufferage of the Pope who can dissolve their bonds to the Catholic Church with the stroke of a pen if he so chooses for the good of the Church. Via Burke, Benedict is putting these people on notice that they are on the verge of severing their ties to the Church by their acts and facts, so the Church is therefore getting ready to sever the ties to them by law and spirit. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2010-04-13 23:10 |
| #10 "Apostolate" , "apostate"--close enough, I guess. |
| Posted by: James 2010-04-13 19:27 |
| #9 To put a point on it, Archbishop Burke is going to start cracking some rather thick heads in the Nun communities who have gotten away with far too much disobedience for far too long. |
| Posted by: Beldar Threreling9726 2010-04-13 10:36 |
| #8 This appears to be a "Get in line or get out" movement aimed at the leftist in the Catholic church who oppose the orthodoxy of the bishops and pope. These leftist organizations are the ones that coddled the paedophiles and ignore the teachings of the Church on abortion and gay "marriage". Also what does this have to do with paedophiles? I also remind people from Old Spook post the other day that there were 6 cases of abuse last year in all the US amongst 68 million catholics and over a hundred thousand priests. The paedophilia problem looks to be well controlled and much better policed than in families, the medical community and public schools. Most of the publicity widespread abuse happened in the 70s and 80s and they have found and punished those priests and compensated the victims. Most of those priest are now dead or defrocked. The only reason for publicity now is a smear attack to try to aid the leftists in the Catholic church and to destroy the moral authority of the largest single religious entity on the planet. As Old Spook noted a child is arguably safer in a Catholic church than in a public school. "violated the natural moral Law" The context is that catholic church opposed the health care reform bill because it did violate natural moral law because it funded abortions and had no conscince (sp?) protections for health care workers. The bishops said so explicitly and these Nuns put themselves over the authority of their bishops and the pope. They are now being told to get back into line and remember their vows of obedience, or else stop calling themselves catholics. |
| Posted by: Beldar Threreling9726 2010-04-13 10:34 |
| #7 I get tired of seeing portions of the church supporting "social justice" by using the government. There are two types of Rabbis: Those that preach social Justice and those that understand Hebrew. |
| Posted by: newc 2010-04-13 09:10 |
| #6 newc, I confess I cannot quite figure out what you were saying above other than that you were rather unhappy about something/someone. Maybe when you're refreshed from a good night's sleep and had your morning coffee or tea you can clarify your stance a bit. |
| Posted by: lotp 2010-04-13 07:15 |
| #5 I apologize but this is rag on Catholic church night. Anyone who thinks Pelosi or the Canterbury idiot are moral leaders needs a quick fire. The stupid is beyond bearable at this point. Ratzinger, you inherited a 7-11 with employ of satans army. What are you going to do PL?] How shall I defend that Parish? |
| Posted by: newc 2010-04-13 00:59 |
| #4 "Was not the Speaker of the House [Nancy Pelosi] glowing to report that so many religious sisters were in support of her proposed health care plan?" he asked. "Was not a religious sister [Sr. Carol Keehan, President of CHA] one of the recipients of a pen used by the President of the United States to sign the health care plan into law?" Corruption and culture of death knows no boundaries. You replace LAW with the law of man and call it a "religious duty. Pathetic humans you are as well as motivated by some kind of payoff. There is no church there but from behind the pulpit. Yep - replace LAW with government. Works in killing all the tyme. Bad angels are good at that. Sorry you were suckered in you pious assholes. |
| Posted by: newc 2010-04-13 00:52 |
| #3 "violated the natural moral Law" Are you serious? |
| Posted by: newc 2010-04-13 00:46 |
| #2 If you side with the Statists, the Catholic Church is done forever. Government is never the friend. Nor are those that diddle little boys. I AM unclear of the nature of this press release. Go back to the boardroom for a few weeks and speak amongst yourselves. This shall be a rocky"" year. Remember you have an assignment to complete before you decide to delve in the politics of human mania. Also remember, there is no sanctity for those that diddle little boys. - EVER. You re-think "healthcare" now before that church is in shambles for the shoddyness YOU made using government to do what people are to for others and amongst themselves. SHAME!@!@@#*&&^$^%^&^#%@& |
| Posted by: newc 2010-04-13 00:39 |
| #1 On the heels of this, a renegade priest, one Rev. James Scahill of St. MichaelÂ’s Parish, E. Longmeadow, MA, has called for the Pope to step down. I think that the Vatican may be starting to run out of patience with these deviationists. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-04-13 00:27 |