The news broke this morning that Archbishop Raymond Burke will be leaving our area to head up the Vatican’s high court. Burke has headed our archdiocese for more than four years.

Burke has been something of a figure in politics and local issues, from announcing in 2004 that he wouldn’t give communition to then presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, who supports abortion rights, to his continued struggle with the parishioners of St. Stanislaus Kostka.

Will we see a procession of statements from local pols then?

So far, Mayor Francis Slay appears to be the first. From his blog:

Imagine the news that a prominent lawyer would be leaving St. Louis to become chief justice of the US Supreme Court. That would be cause for a public expression of civic pride.

This morning, we learned something even more remarkable: St. Louis’s Archbishop Raymond Burke has been selected to lead the Vatican’s Apostolic Signatura, the highest judicial authority of the Catholic Church.

I don’t think St. Louis can take much credit for Archbishop Burke’s accomplishments as a canon lawyer, though I can think of a few instances in which we might have tested his resolve. Still, I hope that he will think back fondly of life in the Central West End, a magnificent cathedral, and a taste for a kind of ravioli that he is unlikely to find anywhere in Rome.

I look forward to having the chance to say goodbye to him in person. 

And now, at 1:25 p.m., Gov. Matt Blunt’s statement:

I have enjoyed my conversations with Archbishop Burke. He is a kind and gentle man who has always stood firm in his convictions.  He has been a remarkable leader for Missouri Catholics and remains a strong and forceful voice reminding all of us of the importance of faith and the need to respect the inherent dignity of life.

I congratulate Archbishop Burke on this extraordinary appointment by Pope Benedict XVI and wish him well in his service to the Vatican’s Supreme Court.