Pope Francis Punishes Another Conservative American Catholic Leader: Report

by Kate Anderson

Pope Francis is reportedly planning to remove an American conservative cardinal, who has been critical of the Vatican in the past, from his apartment over issues of “disunity,” according to ABC News.

Cardinal Raymond Burke, 75, was removed by the pope as the Vatican’s high court justice in 2014 and has been openly critical of Francis’ statements on LGBTQ issues and reform of the Catholic Church. Francis allegedly held a meeting with other Vatican leaders on Nov. 20 to discuss his plan to remove Burke’s apartment and salary as a retired cardinal because he is a source of “disunity,” according to ABC News, which cited two anonymous sources.

Francis reportedly claimed during the meeting that Burke was using the resources given to him by the Vatican against the church, according to ABC. Burke’s secretary said in a statement to Reuters that the cardinal had not been made aware of this plan by the Vatican.

Burke criticized Francis in 2018 after an Italian outlet quoted him as saying that hell does not exist, saying that the comments leave “priests and faithful scandalized.” In October, Burke, along with several other Catholic leaders, sent a series of questions to Francis demanding that he explain the Church’s position on same-sex marriage and female ministers.

Burke also claimed that Francis’ Synod on Synodality, which addressed LGBTQ inclusion and female ordination, “has the aim of bringing forward an agenda that is more political and human than ecclesial and divine,” according to ABC News.

Burke isn’t the only American conservative catholic leader the pope has punished in recent weeks. Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, was put under investigation by the Vatican in June, reportedly regarding his comments on social media claiming that Francis was “undermining the Deposit of Faith.” The Vatican forcibly removed Strickland from his position earlier this month.

The Vatican and Burke did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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Kate Anderson is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Cardinal Raymond Burke” by John Briody. CC BY-ND 2.0.

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