Dear Blog Visitors:
I am still busy with my latest hobby - namely, making videos for my YouTube channel.
The following article caught my attention today, for it details the two Vatican posts that were given to none other than Archbishop Raymond Burke. We have been reading about the hard-line tactics of Archbishop Burke in recent weeks, inclusive of the multiple excommunications he issued in St. Louis. So, it should be no surprise that the Vatican is impressed with him. Here is the article:
Pope names Burke to two Vatican offices
By Tim Townsend
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/religion/story/AAAC04C21C1E1288862574420006FA6B?OpenDocument
Pope Benedict XVI named St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke to two Vatican offices Tuesday, increasing Burke's already prominent stature in Rome.
Burke, a canon lawyer by training, was one of eight cardinals and archbishops worldwide who Benedict named to the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, which interprets canon, or church, law.
The archbishop was one of three Americans and one of only two archbishops named to the council. The other men assigned to the council were all cardinals, four of them the heads of Vatican dicasteries, or agencies — an indication of the faith the Vatican has in Burke.
"It's certainly a sign of confidence and trust on the part of the pope," said Jon Nilson, theology professor at Loyola University in Chicago.
Burke also was one of six bishops assigned to the Congregation for the Clergy, which regulates the formation and training of diocesan priests and deacons.
Nilson said bishops assigned to Vatican agencies, but who live outside Italy, have a natural disadvantage since they don't work in the Vatican on a daily basis.
"Just like in any office, face time — taking someone to lunch, running into them in the hallway — is important," he said. "Only the future will tell how much influence (Burke) will have."
Burke was not available for comment Tuesday.
The Congregation for the Clergy is one of nine congregations in the Roman Curia, as the church government is known. The Council for Legislative Texts is one of 11 pontifical councils in the Curia.
