Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis continues to fight the good fight on the pro-abort Catholic politician front. He has said he won’t give up now that the election is over, mostly because he has said all along that this wasn’t about one election or one candidate. And showing that he practices what he preaches, he has approcahed some pro-abort pols.
In that regard, Archbishop Burke said he had recently begun a pastoral conversation with a Catholic St. Louis-area congressman who has “a perfect pro-abortion record.” He said he would do the same with any other Catholic politician whose policies contradict the church’s teaching on life issues.
He also shows some refreshing candor about the failings of his fellow bishops.
Underlining the sacramental consequences—such as refusal of Communion—is a pastoral responsibility, Archbishop Burke said. It is also a way for the church to show it is serious about these fundamental issues, he said. “Let’s just be honest, the application of the church’s discipline in this regard is weak,” he said.
From Archbishop Burke’s web site: “The motto is proper to Archbishop Burke and is taken from a favorite invocation which is found in a small volume containing the Gospels and Psalms, together with an appendix of prayers, given by Pope Paul VI to the 359 deacons whom he ordained to the priesthood on June 29 of the Holy Year 1975, among whom was Archbishop Burke. The invocation is: 0 bone Jesu, fac ut sim sacerdos secundum Cor Tuum. (“O good Jesus, make me a priest after Your own Heart.”) Contained in the Raccolta, the invocation refers to a text from the Prophet Jeremiah in which the Lord, through the prophet, promises: “I will appoint over you shepherds after my own heart, who will shepherd you wisely and prudently.” (Jer. 3:15) The motto both sets forth the pattern for Archbishop Burke’s episcopal ministry and is an invocation by which he asks for the grace to shepherd the portion of God’s people confided to his care after the manner of Christ, the Good Shepherd.”
The motto tells us much about the man.
“The motto tells us much about the man.”
I guess that’s why our local news?paper has taken such an intense dislike to him. In today’s edition, they ran an editorial (?) called “FASHION: Men in Black”. On his recent trip to Rome, Abp. Burke visited Gammarelli’s, a tailor shop that has been supplying popes and bishops for 160 years.
“But what if, like Archbishop Burke, one was in the market for a Gammarelli cassock, that long tunic-like garment worn by priests, bishops and altar boys? At Catholic Supply Co. in St. Louis, you can pick up a polyester-and-cotton model for $59.95, but at Gammarelli’s, the popular choice is the $600 33-button model in worsted wool.
Still, as Archbishop Burke noted, the tailoring is very reliable, and Italian menswear costs an arm and a leg. After all, you can get a suit at Men’s Wearhouse for $125, or you can buy an Armani for a couple grand. It depends on your priorities.”
The poor man can’t do anything right.
The popular choice is $600, but did he actually buy the $600 one? They don’t exactly say he did nor do they say he didn’t. Typical journalistic turn of phrase leaving the impression of your victim doing something without outright accusing him of it.
“When did you stop beating your wife?”
Yeah, I wondered about that, myself. The original article only said that the Archbishop is a Gammarelli regular and that he was “picking up some cassocks”.
The $59.95 item from Catholic Supply mentioned in the article is for priests and adult servers. It is substantially different from a bishop’s cassock. Catholic Supply does offer custom bishop’s cassocks, but they don’t give a price on their web site. I would be willing to bet, based on my own shopping experience with CS, that they can hit the $600 price point without breaking a sweat.
What, does the Post Dispatch employ a reporter to dog Abp. Burke’s steps when in Rome…?
I took a look at Catholic Supply and you’re right Deacon Mike, the bishop’s cassocks are special order only, non-returnable and no price is given.
But, notice that a bishop’s purple biretta goes for $106… So it’s not hard to figure that a cassock will go for much more. Maybe Abp. Burke got a better price at Gammarelli’s…
The American stuff (the kind of things Catholic Supply would be selling) is crap anyway (in my humble opinion!). Those cassocks are really only suitable for altar servers. The places that make tailor-made, high quality stuff in the US (viz. House of Hansen, Renzetti’s, and a few others) charge almost as much—if not more—than Rome. For example, I can get clerical shirts much cheaper in Rome, and they are 300% better quality and better-looking than the expensive ones that I buy through Almy in the US. My point is that I don’t blame the bishop one bit for buying in Rome, and it seems the newspaper may have just needed to fill its anti-Catholic quota for the week and this was the best that they could do!
Bryan,
Where do you get your clerical shirts? I’d love a nice Italian shirt to go with my red socks. BTW, there’s a great letter to the editor on Cassock-gate in today’s P-D. The writer is a Redemptorist priest. Here’s the URL (almost as long as the letter): http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/editorialcommentary/story/686AC624EEDF017286256F5F0037C6C0?OpenDocument&Headline=LETTERS:+Deficit+spending;+lax+regulation;+biased+cartoon
Praise the Lord for an apostle like Abp. Burke.
Amen.