Cardinal Burke and the Magisterium

There's a serious problem

Many people have been unhappy with my recent criticism of Cardinal Raymond Burke, whose salary and free rent were recently discontinued by Pope Francis due to Burke’s unrelenting work to undermine the unity of the Church.

Cardinal Burke seems to have forgotten a basic Catholic teaching: The intent of the pope is what determines the magisterial weight of a teaching, not the post hoc analysis of self-appointed arbiters of "tradition." See Lumen Gentium 25:

"In matters of faith and morals, the bishops speak in the name of Christ and the faithful are to accept their teaching and adhere to it with a religious assent. This religious submission of mind and will must be shown in a special way to the authentic magisterium of the Roman Pontiff, even when he is not speaking ex cathedra; that is, it must be shown in such a way that his supreme magisterium is acknowledged with reverence, the judgments made by him are sincerely adhered to, according to his manifest mind and will. His mind and will in the matter may be known either from the character of the documents, from his frequent repetition of the same doctrine, or from his manner of speaking."

(from Lumen Gentium 25)

Throughout this papacy, Cardinal Burke has attempted to re-define the authority and significance of the teachings promulgated by Pope Francis. In addition, he routinely announces that various Magisterial documents promulgated by the pope contain “errors” and must be “corrected.” This is a violation of the oath he made as a cardinal:

"I, N., Cardinal of Holy Roman Church, promise and swear, from this day forth and as long as I live, to remain faithful to Christ and his Gospel, constantly obedient to the Holy Apostolic Roman Church, to Blessed Peter in the person of the Supreme Pontiff, become members of the Roman clergy and cooperate more directly in N. and his canonically elected successors, always to remain in communion with the Catholic Church in my words and actions…”

The main problem with Cardinal Burke’s words and actions is not his "criticism" of Pope Francis, but his obstinate rejection of the fundamental principle of religious assent laid out in Lumen Gentium 25.

This has manifested itself in Burke’s repudiation of virtually everything Pope Francis has taught on faith and morals during his papacy. He has been defiant in his opposition to Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis’s teaching on the death penalty, and even once said in an interview that he prayed every day that the Synod on Synodality would not take place. He has taken these defiant and dissenting views to the media on many occasions and has remained a divisive force in the Church for over a decade.

Chances are, if you are an ordinary Catholic and Lumen Gentium’s teaching about assent — also called “religious submission of intellect and will” — (which is repeated in the Professio Fidei, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the Code of Canon Law) seems "off" to you, your understanding of the Magisterium and papal primacy have likely been corrupted by the theological allies of Cardinal Burke.

My position is that Burke's rejection of this principle is a heresy that underlies his entire understanding of tradition, which has manifested itself in countless examples of Burke dissenting from the Magisterium.

Yes, heresy.

Speaking frankly, I'd respect Burke more if he was honest about his dissent and just came out and said he opposed the last two councils' teachings on the papacy. Or even if he simply said he's struggling with his faith.

But it seems that would require more dignity and self-respect than he's capable of mustering.

In addition to the articles I’ve already written, I’m collaborating on a comprehensive article that outlines and explains Cardinal Burke’s history of dissent from the Magisterium. It will include links to the original sources and comprehensive explanations of his errors.

But in the meantime, here’s a video by Michael Lofton that gives an overview of a few of his errors: