Cardinal Raymond Burke’s two-day visit to Oxford was a chance for me to meet the man behind the headlines – and be surprised.
Cardinal Burke, a leading conservative voice in the Church who was last year appointed patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, was celebrating the Quincentennial Mass at the Oxford Oratory this week.
The word pageantry is often thrown about in connection with such affairs, but the altar party that processed into the Mass was so thoroughly medieval that the term truly seemed appropriate. The cardinal was flanked by 11 altar servers (all male, obviously), at least 10 priests, some Knights of Malta in their regalia, and a banner that would have looked quite at home, in fact, at a pageant. I would not have been surprised if a fanfare had sounded.
First hesitantly, then fluidly, the congregation sank to its knees as he passed, blessing to left and to right as he went, a sweep of red silk trailing in his wake.
It is easy to mock such pomp, and I’m not sure what the homeless man outside the church’s gate would have made of it, but as the congregation shuffled and nudged its way to and from Communion, some in suits, some in jeans, some veiled, most not, clutching handbags and babies and rosaries, the claustrophobic confusion was pervaded by such a sense of specialness that it felt like Noah’s Ark.
On Wednesday Cardinal Burke offered a lecture on Pope Benedict XVI’s intellectual heritage. He is Benedict’s man through and through; it was frequently difficult to make out which of his words were Cardinal Ratzinger’s and which were Cardinal Burke’s. His hour-long talk made no mention of Pope Francis.
Burke delivered the lecture, this time in a black cassock, from a platform made of carpet-covered plywood blocks in a 1970s hall. He seemed no less comfortable than he had been at the oratory. His lecture was met with enthusiastic applause, which he had to beg the audience to cease.
But he matched the warmth of his reception with the warmth of his response: he complimented those who asked questions, and was markedly gracious towards the president of Oxford University’s Newman Society, Natalie Dennehy, who sat beside him on the plywood platform as he gave his lecture. On Sundays the wooden blocks become an altar of God, and he would not have shared that with her.
This was the tension. Burke’s words – Benedict’s words – on the beauty of Christ, which can transform even the dark mystery of death into the glory of resurrection, were themselves beautiful and warmly delivered. And yet he has said, and continues to say, things that are cold and ugly. His denunciation of the supposed “feminisation” of the Church in the form of female altar servers and his suggestion that same-sex couples ought not to be invited to family celebrations still horrify me. The next time he makes headlines with such a statement, I shall respond with confusion, not just grief.
Katherine Backler is a student at Oxford University
Photos: Joshua Clark
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User comments (12)
Well said Steve! As I perceive Jesus Christ, he would be very distressed at the way his teachings have been distorted over the centuries by some so-called church leaders. Cardinal Burke's recent comments that those in a gay relationship should be excluded from family gatherings, including children, is nothing short of monstrous. As a Christian, I have nothing in common with his version of Christianity. He is, I hope, not representative of the majority of members of the church. If he his, the pews will become even emptier.
Medievalism and misogyny are charisms of clericalism, not Christianity.
What Burke holds dear is selective legality - and the gospels are resplendent with examples of what the Lord taught about the hypocrisy of faith in that.
Tolerance is indeed a two-way street and we've seen precious little tolerance from the conservatives led by Ray Burke et al.
We don't know what kind of fear fuels their determination to shore up the barricades, especially on the gay issue, but they seem to have forgetten St John's dictum that perfect love drives out fear.
Ray's attachment to the dressing up box is unseemly and unhealthy in a Church which, in the past, has confused service with power.
I guess if you don't fawn and prance all over the gay issue, you must be homophobic. Please remember tolerance is a two way street.
Burke should shuffle off to his retirement with a touch of grace and humility. Calling Ireland a land worse than the pagans is a gross misunderstanding of the compassion, gentleness and wisdom the nation expressed in the vote taken last week to publically declare that all God children are equals in their society. It is Burke and those like him who have driven the Christian churches in the world the crisis they now face.
Burke, Benedict XVI and JPII are/were stand up Catholic men focused on the long view, the eternal life.
Not so the current bishop of Rome who is very concerned with the here and now.
WAITJ?
Well said Chico889! Looking at the picture of Cardinal Burke in his huge over-the-top mitre, quite contrary to the teachings of the simple carpenter of Nazareth, and reading his outrageous, homophobic utterances and insulting comments on Irish Catholics, it is indeed puzzling that he was ever considered for high office in the church.
Cardinal Bourke represents the fringes of Catholicism, not the mainstream. There will inevitably be such people in any large organisation and they should be accommodated as best as possible.
What is shocking is that the previous two popes allowed--or, perhaps more accurately encouraged -- people of his persuasion to hijack the Church.
that the same sex couple might be having sodomy after tea as guests does not 'horrify you'?
Perhaps if you had taken the time to actually speak with him, you might have noticed that he is actually a very warm and gracious man. And perhaps also, if you took time to actually study the Church's teachings and the reasoning behind those teachings you would discover why he says the things he does, things which should not horrify you.
@Katherine Backler: Thank you for keeping the intrepid Cardinal in the news. God bless you, all near and dear to you, and his work at your hands.
I can understand your feelings about the Irish vote. Please understand that if you choose to stay away from Ireland for the rest of your life we would all appreciate it.