ST. LOUIS (MO)
Riverfront Times
By Danny Wicentowski Thu., Feb. 12 2015
If Pope Francis wants to change Church doctrine on divorce and gay marriage, he’ll have to go through Cardinal Raymond Burke.
That shouldn’t shock anyone who has followed Burke’s career path since he left St. Louis as archbishop in 2008, especially since the cantankerous, ultra-conservative prelate mansplained his way into the headlines last month by blaming women and gay clergy for the Church’s molestation crisis. In October, when it appeared — for a moment — that the Vatican was ready to make a “seismic shift” on gay rights in the church, Burke used it as an opportunity to publicly remind folks that expressions of gayness can damage children.
But Burke went further this week, telling a French news program that he would feel compelled to “resist” Pope Francis if the pontiff tries to soften Church doctrine.
Burke and the pope are hardly buddies, and much has been made of the pope’s decision to remove Burke from his spot on the church’s highest court. But Burke’s recent sit-down with France2, which aired Sunday, is notable for the interviewer’s blunt probing of rocky relationship between the two spiritual leaders.
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