“This whole situation can be transformed through individuals and families”
by Bradley Eli, M.Div., Ma.Th. • ChurchMilitant.com • April 13, 2017
ROME (ChurchMilitant.com) – Cardinal Raymond Burke is putting his hope in faithful Catholic families to counter the evils in the world.
During a wide-ranging interview in Rome on Monday, Cdl. Raymond Burke, former head of the Vatican’s highest court, was asked about the fate of families in a world threatened by Islam, the culture of death and gender ideology. The cardinal responded, “Christ is always giving his grace to individuals and to families. And this whole situation can be transformed through individuals and families.”
He related that in his many travels, he’s finding everywhere “good young people and good young families,” and those not so young, who “are very committed Catholic families. This gives me hope,” said Cdl. Burke, that by Christ working through them, “the world can be transformed.”
Asked what advice he could give the family, Cdl. Burke listed the following:
Center family life on prayer, the Holy Eucharist and regular confession
Educate children on Church teaching and moral law
Encourage other families and together become a force for good in the world
Concerning the possible reunion of the Society of St. Pius X (FSSPX) with the Catholic Church, Cdl. Burke said he prays and hopes that it will happen but expressed concern that the reunification be based on truth:
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 FSSPX has had about the Church, the Holy See and the direction of the Catholic Church.
The cardinal was asked about why he and three other cardinals made public their widely reported dubia or set of questions addressed to the Holy Father. The cardinal replied, “Because there is a very dangerous confusion … Priests against priests and disagreements among fellow Catholics about whether you are able to receive the sacraments if you live in an invalid marriage union.” He noted there were even “disagreements among bishops” and it wasn’t good for the Church.
Cardinal Burke denied the charge that he was “challenging” the pope, saying the use of the dubia was a “very ancient practice in the Church.” He said he has always shown “respect for the pope” and this was expressed in the dubia.
Asked about a possible formal correction, Cdl. Burke intimated that the next step would involve the cardinals, who “would approach once again the Holy Father personally to say: Holy Father, the matter is so grave that we must correct it.” He said that he trusts “that the Holy Father will respond at that moment.”
The cardinal was then asked if he thought Cdl. Gerhard Müller’s interview in Il Timone was an answer to dubia? “I believe so,” said Cdl. Burke. “It certainly pertains very much to the whole discussion, and it makes very clear what the Church is teaching regarding such matters.”
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Bradley Eli, M.Div., Ma.Th. is a staff writer for ChurchMilitant.com. Follow Bradley on Twitter: @BradleyLEli