Pope Francis seems to be fed up with the ultra-conservative opposition to his pontificate and has started taking letters from them. After dismissing a Texas bishop known for being a vocal critic of the Pope, he has now punished American Cardinal Raymond L. Burke, one of his most important detractors, without Vatican privileges. The Pope has taken away the salary he received as a retired cardinal, at the age of 75, and also the apartment paid for by the Vatican, although he spends long seasons in his native Wisconsin.
This was communicated by Francis himself during a meeting of heads of Vatican departments on November 20. According to the Reuters agency, a participant in this meeting explained that the Pontiff motivated his decision by saying that Burke was a source of "disunity" in the Church and was working "against the Church and against the papacy" with the privileges of the Vatican At the moment, the Holy See has neither confirmed nor denied this information. The salaries of the cardinals are not public, but they are between 4,000 and 5,000 euros a month, depending on the bonuses for positions held over the years in the Vatican, and Burke was president of the Court of the Apostolic Signature.
Over the years, Francis has accumulated a minority – but noisy – opposition of traditionalist cardinals and bishops who do not accept either his reforms in the Vatican or his openings to the LGBTI sector or to women, among other things. And in all the clashes staged by these anti-pope ranks, the name of Raymond L. Burke has always been found, a hero for American ultra-conservatives and who enjoys a certain popularity in Italy.
The cardinal, an ardent defender of the legacy of Benedict XVI, became known for denying communion to John Kerry during his presidential campaign in 2004. For years he has used ultraconservative media platforms to campaign against the Papa, and not only that. Burke openly declared war on Bergoglio in 2016, when the Argentine pope made public his exhortation Amoris Laetitita, one of the most important documents of this pontificate. Then, the American and three other cardinals sent the famous cartade les dubia (doubts) to ask the Holy Father to correct the episode in which he opened the door so that some divorced and remarried could remarry. Bergoglio did not receive them, which fueled his anger.
In 2018, Burke also turned his back on Francis again by supporting ex-nuncio to the US Carlo Maria Viganò, who caused a huge Vatican storm when he accused the pontiff without evidence of knowing about the abuses of the former cardinal north- American Theodore McCarrick. That same year he led a summit of ultra-Catholic cardinals to encourage them to disobey the Pope as a "heretic".
The latest move by Burke, who defines himself as a defender of Catholic doctrine and papal traditions, took shape recently, when he again captained another letter of doubt before the Synod of Bishops about the synodality he started in the October at the Vatican - the second session will take place next year - and which addressed difficult issues for the Holy See such as welcoming the LGBTI sector or how to give women a greater role in the Church. In this document, they questioned some of these topics of debate, such as blessings for homosexual couples or the idea of a Church open to collaboration, because they feared that this could go against the "supreme papal authority". The same American cardinal assured that we must fight against the "poison of confusion, error and division" that in his opinion could create this assembly.
This same month, Francis removed the bishop of Tyler, a small diocese in Texas, Joseph E. Strickland, an admirer of Donald Trump who had long used social media to malign Francis. At the beginning of the year, the Vatican opened an investigation into the Diocese of Tyler, and Strickland said that he did not plan to leave if the Pope kicked him out, which ultimately ended up happening at the recommendation of those in charge of the investigation. In August, the Pope already regretted that a "reactionary" sector of the American Church opted for politics instead of religion.
Another case, although very different, is that of Benedict XVI's historic private secretary, Georg Gänswein, who in June was sent back to his home diocese in Germany without any position. Since Ratzinger's death there have been rumors about his future, especially after he published a book very critical of Francis.
