Catholic Identity in Danger from Secularized Culture: Archbishop Raymond Burke

Catholic identity is in danger of being lost in the current “completely secularized” culture says Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis Missouri. Burke is known as one of the most faithful defenders of the unborn among the US Catholic hierarchy. He told a Fox news reporter that although “some people don't accept everything the church teaches,” he has to keep teaching the truths of the faith.

He urged faithful Catholics to keep teaching because their Catholic identity is in danger of being lost. “Why? Because we live in a culture that's completely secularized.” He reiterated the warnings made by Pope Benedict XVI against relativism, the belief that all religious faiths, all moral codes and all lifestyles are equally valid. Burke warned against “a kind of relativism, a kind of hedonism, materialism and so forth, these kinds of tendencies of our culture, for us we have to resist them.”

Archbishop Burke has taken a leading role for Catholics opposed to the sexualized and secularized cultural trends, particularly in his stand against pro-abortion politicians who continue to trade on the name “Catholic.” His humble and warm personal style has endeared him to the faithful who have met him, but he has not hesitated to forthrightly defend the Church.

This week, he warned two Catholic women in his diocese that they would be placing themselves outside the Church and incur automatic excommunication if they went ahead with a planned mock “ordination” on Sunday. The two women, who belong to the radical feminist organization Women priests, announced they would be “ordained” this weekend.

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Comments

  1. Therese11/9/07, 3:13 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Therese11/9/07, 3:15 AM

    Thank you God for Bishops like Archbishop Burke that are willing to stand up for truth even when people are going to reject it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Crimson Wife11/9/07, 1:03 PM

    I totally agree that too many Catholics in the West have become secularized. Most of my relatives sadly fall into this category.

    Fortunately, there seems to be a renaissance of Catholic identity more and more among people my age (Gen X) and younger (Gen Y, Millennials). We are rediscovering our Catholic heritage and embracing the orthodoxy our Baby Boomer parents rejected. There is hope for the future of the Church is this trend continues!

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