Burke confirmed as Edinburgh vicar general

MGR PATRICK BURKE has been appointed as a vicar general in the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh, writes Christopher Lamb.

Mgr Burke will be one of three vicars general in the archdiocese, which has been led by Archbishop Leo Cushley since September 2013.

The Tablet reported in November that the former Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith official had been appointed to the post. But a church spokesman later asked The Tablet to clarify that no decision on the appointment of a vicar general had been made. This week a spokesman confirmed that Mgr Burke had been made a vicar general and the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh’s website listed him in the post.

Before Archbishop Cushley’s appointment, Mgr Burke had been tipped as a possible successor to Cardinal Keith O’Brien. Mgr Burke is a former editor of the conservative Faith magazine who has been critical of reform-minded Catholics.