Archbishop Burke named to another influential Vatican post
St. Louis emeritus Archbishop Raymond Burke
Pope Benedict XVI named St. Louis emeritus Archbishop Raymond Burke to the Vatican’s influential Congregation for Bishops on Saturday.
The congregation, or Vatican office, is responsible for recommending Roman Catholic bishop candidates around the world to the pope. Over time - and Burke is only 61 - the Congregation’s members can have a significant impact on the direction of the Catholic church.
Burke will join another former St. Louis archbishop, Cardinal Justin Rigali, at the Congregation for Bishops. He’ll be the fifth American member of the office.
Burke left St. Louis to become the prefect, or leader, of the Apostolic Signatura - often described as the Vatican’s version of the Supreme Court. Burke also is a member of two other Vatican offices, the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, which interprets canon law, and the Congregation for the Clergy, which regulates the formation and training of diocesan priests and deacons.
Whispers in the Loggia blogger Rocco Palmo said:
Burke’s impact on the process and its outcomes could extend for two decades; normally renewed on a five-yearly basis, Curial memberships automatically cease at age 80 both for bishops and the college of cardinals, which the Wisconsin-born prefect of the Apostolic Signatura is likely to join at the next consistory, currently expected to take place sometime in mid-2010.
Over on the dotCommonweal blog, David Gibson, writes that the news of Burke’s appointment “is interesting, to say the least, as Burke has certainly come down squarely on one side of the internal battles in the church and inside the hierarchy.”
Tim Townsend has been the religion reporter at the Post-Dispatch since June 2004. He previously covered personal finance and consumer news for The Wall Street Journal. He holds master's degrees from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and Yale Divinity School. In 2005 he won the Templeton Religion Reporter of the Year Award, given by the Religion Newswriters Association. 
Congradulations to Archbiship Burke.
Did they put him in this position because he is a crazy fanatic about abortion and stem cell research? Way to move backwards, Catholicism. I won’t be re-joining the Church any time soon. No I’m not gay before anyone asks. ha
When will the Vatican and the U.S. Catholic Church finally be investigated for covering up and moving around pedophile priests instead of turning them in to the authorities?
Congratulations to Archbishop Raymond Burke. Archbishop Burke is an outstanding preacher of the gospel and a fervent witness to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Some thought they ran him out of St. Louis, and returning to the Vatican was like being holed but the Pope and time is proving that Archbishop Burke is a valued son of the church, consistent, and hardworking. Archbishop Burke was a tireless worker. I look forward to his joining the ranks of the Cardinals, as a valued adviser to the Holy Father. Ad Multos Annos!!!
Boring
Boo!!! Burke should be exiled to a remote monastery.
Yet another to not re-join the church. Oh well, at least my money stays in my pocket.
Let’s face it…Raymond Burke will be remembered by a lot of St. Louisians as the guy who excommunicated Polish grandparents.
They must have let “Big Ray” out of Solitary!
Burke is a rigid, ideological *&^@# who is also a likely candidate for “closet case of the year.”
I am soooo tired of abusive tools like him being elevated to positions of even even higher power.