Pope Francis made good on rumors that he was going to demote anti-gay bigot Cardinal Raymond Burke. Burke has been leading attacks of Francis for what the far right elements of the Catholic Church is a betrayal of the Church's long obsession with sex and demonization of anyone who doesn't comply with the Church's neurotic dictates on sexuality and women. Time reports on Burke's demotion. Here are highlights:
Pope Francis has demoted a conservative American cardinal who has criticized his leadership of the Catholic Church.
The pontiff removed Cardinal Raymond Burke as the leader of the Vatican’s highest court and appointed him to a ceremonial position as chaplain of the Knights of Malta, a charity group, according to a press bulletin issued Saturday.
That is a significant demotion, according to the National Catholic Reporter. “The position of Patron of the the Order of Malta is usually given to a retired cardinal, or as a second task to an active cardinal,” Michael Sean Winters writes. “It has almost no responsibilities.”
The move was not a surprise, as Burke, the Vatican’s highest ranking American, had said last month that he was going to have a new post.
The outspoken, conservative bishop — who pushed for the Vatican to revise and water-down its recent, tentative step toward greater acceptance of LGBT people — has butted heads with the pope since the Argentine was elected last year. Last month, he compared Pope Francis’ leadership to “a ship without a rudder” during an interview with a Spanish magazine.
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