Cardinal Raymond Burke Calls the Faithful To Reject Being 'Part-Catholic'

The Holy Father, it seems to me, wishes to pare back every conceivable obstacle people may have invented to prevent themselves from responding to Jesus Christ's universal call to holiness. We all know individuals who say things like: "Oh, I stopped going to Church because of the Church's teaching on divorce", or "I could never be Catholic because of the Church's teaching on abortion or on homosexuality". The Holy Father is asking them to put aside these obstacles and to welcome Christ, without any excuse, into their lives. Once they come to understand the immeasurable love of Christ, alive for us in the Church, they will be able to resolve whatever has been troubling them about the Church, His Mystical Body, and her teaching.

Surely, persons whose hearts are hardened against the truth will read something very different into the approach of Pope Francis, claiming that, in fact, he intends to abandon certain teachings of the Church which our totally secularized culture rejects. Their false praise of the Holy Father's approach mocks the fact that he is the Successor of Saint Peter, totally grounded in the Beatitudes, and that, therefore, with humble trust in God alone, he rejects the acceptance and praise of the world.

It is not that the Holy Father is not clear in his opposition to abortion and euthanasia, or in his support of marriage as the indissoluble, faithful and procreative union of one man and one woman. Rather he concentrates his attention on inviting all to nurture an intimate relationship, indeed communion, with Christ, within which the non-negotiable truths, inscribed by God upon every human heart, become ever more evident and are generously embraced. The understanding and living of these truths are, so to speak, the outer manifestation of the inner communion with God the Father in Christ, His only-begotten Son, through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

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An end to the silence, an end to the anxiety, an end to the  cowardice. It is necessary to bear witness to the truth of Christ to affirm the natural right to call the healthy Catholic doctrine into memory and stand up to the rampant perversions of relativism and secularism against the Church, against life and against the family, the cardinal said.

A certain laxity in the past decades have fostered the emergence and enforcement of false ideas. The fight against truth, beauty and goodness is in its present severity would have been unthinkable, if the half-heartedness had not come  into the Church, the cardinal said. "A real Catholic believes  entirely in every truth taught by the Church without compromise. The term  of , 'partial catholicity' and 'part catholic' is a contradiction in terms, " said Cardinal Burke.

"Confident No" to Abortion More Necessary Than Ever

Today it is  more than ever necessary  "to confidently say no to abortion and the contraceptive mentality".  In this sense,it was even more so a " resounding no to Communion for politicians, who act against the moral law,  in order, to prevent sacrilege through consistent action  and to protect the faithful from a public scandal."

The schools and the families should have no hesitation to "fight against the dictatorship of decadent gender theory. Parents need to watch over the education of their children so that they are educated regarding human sexuality to the truth and to be protected from false messages that are to be implemented by schools and the media," said Burke.  Parents should avoid having their children participate in classes and extracurricular activities that  undermine the truth about the nature of man as man and wife. "

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Resist "Decadent Gender Theory"

The Cardinal treated the problem of genetic manipulation in the interview: "It is important to emphasize that the resistance of the Church against in-vitro techniques is based on the conception of the natural law and not to a specific Catholic doctrine. Right reason protects the inviolability of human dignity and the procreation of man. "

Against abortion and "gay marriage" the Cardinal  urged the raising of  "the loud voice of protest" and to take to the streets against those governments that violate the natural law. The March for Life in different countries is a very useful tool for it.

Obama Accelerated Spreading Perverse Theories

The Obama administration has, said Cardinal Burke, "brought an acceleration of  perverse theories". The policy of "U.S. presidents have become progressively more hostile to  Christian civilization. Many faithful Catholics have responded to the ever more increasing persecution. Unfortunately, there is still  the impression that a considerable part of the population is not really aware  of what is happening at present. "

In France, the population has responded most clearly: "The logo of Manif pour tous is very strong. It aims at the truth. What   the French have implemented  is a model for other countries. The citizens must be ready to act," said Cardinal Burke.

The complete eight-page interview can be read in the magazine Radici Cristiane, in Italian.

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