Archbishop Burke Hammers Liberal Religious

This past Saturday it was my very great privilege to be present at a mass, followed by a banquet, put on by the Institute on Religious Life.

I have now updated this post with some pictures, courtesy of Mike Wick at the IRL.

The mass was held at the chapel of the Mundelein Seminary, and celebrated by Rockford's Bishop Doran, the homilist was Fr. James Kubicki, S.J., and communion was distributed by Fr. Kubicki and Archbishop Raymond Burke.

That's right, you may be jealous. I received communion from Archbishop Burke.

As wonderful as that was, it was only the beginning of a very memorable evening. We enjoyed a delightful banquet, served by the seminarians. Present were far more than I could count of bishops, priests and religious brothers and sisters, an amazing variety of habits.

And then, Archbishop Burke delivered the keynote address.

After humbly expressing his gratitude at receiving the Institute's 2010 Pro Fidelitate et Gratute award, His Grace spent a few minutes reminiscing about the many religious communities he's worked with over his career.

And then, metaphorically, he pulled out a big hammer. At least that's how it seemed to me, although he never changed his tone of voice. But the words! The words.

Here's a sample, courtesy of my LCRTL co-blogger Bonnie:

"Who could imagine that consecrated religious, would openly and in defiance of the bishops, as successors of the apostles, publicly endorse legislation containing provisions, which violated the natural moral law in it's most fundamental tenets-the safeguarding and promoting of innocent and defenseless human life, and fail to safeguard the demands of the free exercise of conscience for health care workers," Archbishop Burke said.

"Whoever could have imagined that religious congregations of pontifical right, would openly organize to resist an attempt to frustrate an apostolic visitation, that is a visit to their congregations carried out under the authority of Christ on earth, to whom all religious are bound by the strongest bonds of loyalty and obedience," he said.

Archbishop Burke indicated that the attitude of sisters toward the visitation represents, "A growing tendency among certain consecrated religious, to view themselves outside and above the body of Christ, as a parallel institution looking in upon the Church with an autonomy which contradicts their very nature. Religious life lived in the heart of the Church, and for that reason religious congregations are by their very nature bound in strictest loyalty to the Roman pontiff. It is of course, an absurdity of the most tragic kind, to have consecrated religious obstinately acting against the moral law. The spiritual harm done to the individual religious, who are disobedient, and also the grave scandal caused to the faithful and people in general, are of incalculable dimensions."

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