Wikipedia:Mediation Cabal/Cases/2 01 2006 St. Stanislaus Kostka Church (Saint Louis)/Duplicates/Raymond Leo Burke

Most Reverend Raymond Leo Burke (b. 30 June, 1948) is the current Roman Catholic Archbishop of Saint Louis, USA. He has served as Archbishop of St. Louis since 26 January, 2004. He previously served as Bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin.

History
Archbishop Burke was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin on June 30, 1948. The son of Thomas F. and Marie B. Burke, he was the youngest of six children.He grew up in Stratford, Wisconsin in Marathon County. From 1962 to 1968 he attended the Holy Cross Seminary in La Crosse, Wisconsin. From 1968 to 1971 Burke studied at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He then completed his studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy from 1971 to 1975. Pope Paul VI ordained Burke to the priesthood on June 29, 1975 at Saint Peter's Basilica.

Priestly career
After ordination, his first assignment was as assistant rector at the Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He also taught religion at Aquinas High School in La Crosse. From 1980 to 1984 Father Burke studied Canon Law at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he received his license and doctorate. He then returned to La Crosse and was named the Moderator of the Curia as well as the Vice Chancellor of the La Crosse Diocese. In 1989 Pope John Paul II assigned Burke to be the first American Defender of the Bond of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura - the highest court in the church.

Episcopal history
In 1994 the Pope named Burke to be the head of the Diocese of La Crosse. Burke was ordained by the Pope as Bishop on January 6, 1995 at Saint Peter's Basilica. He was formally installed in office on February 22, 1995. During his time in La Crosse, he helped establish the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the diocese. Bishop Burke Hall at Aquinas High School in La Crosse is named in his honor. He served as the Bishop of La Crosse until December 2, 2003, when he was named as the replacement for Justin Cardinal Rigali&mdash;who had been reassigned to be the Archbishop of Philadelphia in July of 2003. He was formally installed as Archbishop of St. Louis on January 26, 2004. On the 29th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood, Burke was presented with the pallium on June 29, 2004 by Pope John Paul II.

2004 Presidential Election
During the 2004 presidential election season, Burke publicly stated that John Kerry and other pro-choice politicians who are Catholic should not receive the Eucharist. He has also stated that Catholic voters who support a candidate because of the candidate's pro-choice views are committing grave sin and should also not receive Communion without first having their sin absolved through the sacrament of Penance. This made the Archbishop a controversial figure nationally. It made him one of a small number of Bishops who decided to deny communion to such politicans. It is a continuation of a policy that he had begun while Bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse.

His actions during this time were seen by some as evidence that the Church was abandoning the careful neutrality that it normally maintained during election campaigns. While some Catholics hailed his courage for denying communion to abortion rights supporters, others have criticized the Archbishop for what they see as undue interference in the election process.

St. Stanislaus Kostka Church
Another controversy Archbishop Burke has been associated with involved the control of the property of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, a parish serving the Polish community in Saint Louis.

The controversy centered around a change that the lay board of directors of the civil corporation of the parish made to the corporate bylaws in the early 1980's, which placed the lay board in complete control of the funds and property of the parish, not the pastor with the collaboration of the parish finance council, which is the canonical norm. Shortly after he became Archbishop of St. Louis, Burke mandated that the parish return to the original bylaws that did conform to canon law.

Their refusal to comply eventually led to the establishment of a new Polish parish--the Church of St. Agatha - Polish Roman Catholic, the excommunication of the lay board of the civil corporation of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church and the suspended priest they hired, as well as, the Archbishop declaring that St. Stanislaus Kostka Church is no longer in communion with the Roman Catholic Church.

Published Works

 * Burke,Raymond L.;Lack of discretion of judgment because of schizophrenia:doctrine and recent rotal jurisprudence,Pontificia Universita Gregoriana,1986.
 * Burke,Raymond L.,et.al.,Sable,Robert M.,coordinator and editor;Incapacity for marriage:Jurisprudence and Interpretation/Acts of the III Gregorian Collguium,1987.