Cardinal Burke: Scatenato! | National Catholic Reporter

Cardinal Burke: Scatenato! | National Catholic Reporter by MSW. MGB: Cardinal Burke is useful foil for reform. While his little rants allow us to count heads to see who is against, say, a renewed look at the natural law regarding marriages and what is truly a marriage (since natural never changes and the Curia is always right) it also allows the rest of us to see how badly the current arguments are (and most of them, like calling homosexuality disordered, never rose to the level of doctrine - they were press release fodder, just like the Cardinal's appearances).

The confusion meme is great fun. It really means resistance and a bit of disloyalty. It is fighting against any change in doctrine that was no more sacrosanct - and probably no less - when it was proposed. I, for one, was "confused" when the whole "intrinsicly disordered" meme came out when it looked like sex was now a gift from God and homosexuals were wonderfully made. Where was the official confusion then?

On pastoral v. doctoral, Burke has it exactly wrong. You cannot have doctrinal teaching that posses the pastoral. The pastoral is real people. The doctrinal is delusions of grandeur that are often wrong - at least when celibates are making pronouncements on sex and marriage.

The Gender Ideology question is interesting because the Church, particularly Catholic hospitals and some civil, created the need for it. If no hospital had ever turned away a committed partner, long time companion or essentiall gay spouse in favor of the family of origin the hue and cry for marriage equality might never have occurred. Did the hospitals themselves decide to behave this way? I doubt it. The Cardinal can look in the mirror if he wants to know why this movement exists.

As to comparing those of (not-nonfamilial, gays have families, blessed or not) non-traditional (no, not that, in many Catholic cultures, people who could not afford marriage cohabitated and gay couples were blessed until the first millenium) non-doctrinal marriage and relationship to murders - Burke is equating all sin. I bet to him Masturbation is still a mortal sin rather a healthy outlet at times when there is no partner.

Funny thing, the only two chapters in Fagothy's Right and Reason (at least when I was in Catholic College) where the author defaulted to authority because the natural law case was too close to call - real natural law with right reason, not something found in the Catechism - were pre-marital sex (not casual, but committed and headed to marriage and homosexual relations. I am sure a few of my fellow throughout time took that as meaning that there is no natural law reason for the doctrine. Pity Burke did not get the hint.

Cardinal Burke was an expert in upholding Canon Law, which made his appointment to the Signatura both good and bad - as I have seen nothing showing he had any capacity for mercy. Worse, as MSW indicates, he seems to have a complete lack of knowledge of Church history - probably good if you are upholding the Church, because the history is both ugly and beautiful - look only to the ancient rites having to do with Bachus and Sergio, a pair of Roman solidier who were martyred and who were a gay couple - in every way married. He might equivacate and say their martyrdom absolved their sins, however we also know them for their love - including the sexual kind. Chaplain to a moribund order of knights is a good place for Burke. I gather he wanted the job (hopefully not to spread the manure he has been throwing around), but the Pope was quite collegial with him and even encouraged him to speak. Still, one can take the role of foil too far.