The Vatican announced the other day that Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis, a well-regarded canonist, has been given additional duties of serving on the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican’s highest tribunal, a sort of court of final appeal, although it’s not exactly analogous to the US Supreme Court.
Ed Peters makes the good point that I’ve noticed before that when the Church wants to reward you for a job well done, she gives you more work, unlike other sectors of society where you get an award or a promotion to a nice cushy do-nothing job.
Tom Szyskiewicz, who worked for the diocesan newspaper in La Crosse, Wisc., when Burke was the bishop, has some reflections on the appointment as well, including an assessment that this is vindication of Burke’s stance on refusing to give Communion to Sen. John Kerry (a stance which received a backhanded rebuke from Cardinal Ted McCarrick at the bishops’ meeting last month) as well as his handling of the schismatic St. Stanislaus parish.
An interesting related note is that several Boston parishes who are appealing their suppressions by Cardinal Sean O’Malley will have their cases heard before the Signatura. I don’t think their arguments will hold up well with Burke who dealt with a similar version of their claims at St. Stanislaus.
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I also hope that Archbishop Burke’s presence on the Signatura will bolster the excommunication efforts of Marc Balestrata (spelling uncertain) of http://www.defide.com who is taking on pro-abortion “Catholic” politicians like the entire Massachusetts Congressional delegation and Mayor Mumbles Menino.