Priests defend, commend Archbishop Raymond Burke

By Matt C. Abbot
Op/Ed

I like Fathers Tom Euteneuer, James Farfaglia, and John Trigilio. They’re not afraid to speak out on controversial matters.

So I was happy that they responded to my request for a statement on the current Rick Majerus, Archbishop Raymond Burke controversy.

As you may have heard or read, Mr. Majerus, coach of the St. Louis University basketball team, voiced support for abortion “rights” at a recent rally for pro-abortion presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Archbishop Burke wants the university – a nominally Catholic one, by the way – to discipline the defiant, pro-abortion coach.

Father Tom Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, issued this statement: “Rick Majerus is more of a basket case than a basketball coach. His sicknesses all fit so neatly together: He has a modern anti-Catholic ‘Jesuit’ education; he embraces superficial, undigested rhetoric about the issues; he is a jock pretending to be a scientist; and he exhibits a defiant disobedience to religious authority. Dante would have a field day -- no pun intended --putting this guy in the pit of hell. He should be excommunicated along with all the Jesuits who ‘educated’ him.”

Father James Farfaglia, of the Corpus Christi, Tex., Catholic diocese, had this to say in defense of Archbishop Burke:

“I applaud Archbishop Raymond Burke's courage. He is always speaking out with clarity regarding pro-life issues. If every bishop in America were to follow his example, the horror of legalized abortion would be over with. Too many bishops hide behind the walls of their cathedrals and do not speak out. Too many of our bishops will not take a stand against Catholics who openly defy Church teaching. The scandal of our times is the hierarchy who are not speaking out. Let us pray for the few bishops that do have the courage to take a stand.”

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Comments

  1. Anonymous1/28/08, 1:26 PM

    I really like their support of Archbishop Burke. I really believe many Bishops are afraid to stand for the truth, fearful that they may loose their congregation.

    The truth is, the ones that will not support the Catholic Teaching, are already gone.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jean Heimann1/30/08, 3:32 AM

    Archbishop Burke is one of my favorites and is a wonderful model for the other US bishops to emulate.

    ReplyDelete

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