To be honest, I just lost all respect for Rick Majerus. As a Catholic, this is an unacceptable comment for a teacher at a Catholic University. I would suspect that his job with the university is now on the line as well as it should be. It is going to take a lot from him to keep his job and I am sure the administration has already spoken to him.

Why can’t catholics behave like catholics? You go to a catholic grade school,catholic high school then maybe catholic college if your lucky.You know the rules of being a catholic.And there are definite rules,no abortions, no cell stem research,go to Mass on Sundays,confession more then once a year,you know the commandments.They are there for everyone to see.Why then does someone like Rick Majerus who is supposed to be a catholic,not act like a catholic?Fire him,get him out of a catholic establishment.You know there is a big election coming up remember CATHOLICS you must vote for the candidate who does not approve of abortion or cell stem research.Surely catholics have heard of Lourdes,Fatima and now Medjugorje.The Blessed Mother has begged the world to start behaving or there will be trouble,serious trouble.

I don’t know that it’s legally possible or reasonable for an employer to forbid an employee from sharing personal views. However, if an employee’s views are in direct conflict with the principles and mission of the employer, and those views are shared publicly, I think the employer needs to seriously consider if they are willing to allow their principles to be compromised in that way. The employee may not necessarily have to be removed from his or her job, but some kind of serious action or discussion would have to happen.
In any field, customers pay money to a particular organization or company because they want the unique service the organization provides and they agree with that organization’s values. The organization therefore either spends their payment appropriately, or informs their customers that the values or principles have changed. In this case, if I were a parent or student — a “customer” of SLU — paying that kind of money to get a Catholic education, I would have to seriously question if I were getting my money’s worth!

You people are crazy! Burke should be run out of town! He is nothing but a bully. This is not what the bible represents. It is not for you, him or anybody to judge. He was against Cheryl Crow preforming free to raise money for kids and refused to give communion to John Kerry because of his views. Enough is enough. Being a bully is not the Catholic way!!

Burke is everything bad in the Catholic religion. Instead of worrying about the local priest who “borrowed” money from a fund to buy robes and conference tables and then had to come up with a mysterious donor to cover his crime he is sticking his agenda into the media again. Burke is too busy doing loud politically motivated things like excommunicating the priest at St. Stan. or being mad that women want to be part of the clergy to actually care about the people he is representing.

When a coach at Joan of Arc Catholic School slapped a child instead of removing that person or charging them with a crime, the church suspended that coach for only a year because he is connected. It seems the church should be more concerned over a representative who physically assaulted a child then a coach who spoke his mind. I guess they are really staying consistent though, hit or abuse a kid and they will brush it under the rug… Talk about Stem cells or get in the way of our cash flow and we will take drastic measures.

People constantly complain about their elected officials, I think it is time that Raymond Burke gets the same type of heat. Face it catholics, Burke is just a religious political bully. He is like the kid in school whose dad is a big wig and can get away with stuff.

If Burke keeps telling people who they must vote for, then I think it is time to start taxing the church. They are moving from staying neutral to truly promoting their agenda, so let’s shut Burke up by hitting him in the wallet.

Priests who steal are given a donation and a pass. A man who speaks out privately for cures is vilified. Yep, smells like Burke again.

There is little about Burke I can say that would be new. He is an abrasive control freak who is more concerned with politics and money than souls and salvation. Every time he speaks, he offends moderates, and I know he (and others like him) have chased people from the Catholic church.

I would however like to express my dismay at single issue voters. Since Burke will tell all Catholics to vote anti-choice rather than pro-choice – I would like to comment on the culture of life. Whether or not life begins at conception, it sure doesn’t stop at birth!! I am sick and tired of all these people being incredibly holier than thou about someones pregnancy – forcing them to bring a child into the world, then abandoning that child. The same people who are vehemently anti-choice are same ones who will campaign against health care for children. They will cut aid to the poor. They will start wars under false pretenses and kill hundreds of thousands to prove a point. Lets be clear about this – In every choice that effects them, they are the culture of DEATH. In a choice that doesn’t affect them, they are a piously “pro-life”. What a crock.

I know talking to a zealot is useless, I will get ignored at best, viciously attacked in all probability. But here goes anyway. When you stand in that voting booth, ponder this: Which group actually cares about people? Which group helps the poor and which enriches the greedy? Who is concerned with making peoples lives better, and who is concerned with being able to tell you what you can and can’t do?

Burke is everything bad in the Catholic religion. Instead of worrying about the local priest who “borrowed” money from a fund to buy robes and conference tables and then had to come up with a mysterious donor to cover his crime he is sticking his agenda into the media again.

That particular incident is out of Burke’s jurisdiction; the “local priest” who caught caught in that mess is in fact the bishop of the Belleville diocese.

The SLU spokesman’s response to this tells me that SLU is handling this the right way: acknowledge that people have their own viewpoints outside work hours and respect that. Unless SLU acts upon this in a negative manner I’m not entirely sure if there’s a problem here. Raymond Burke does not sign Majerus’ paycheck.

Repeatedly, Burke has repeatedly plotted and planned, practically stalking Catholics who don’t agree w/ his opinions, and very publically airing his intent to withhold communion. This is not the behavior one would expect from a spiritual leader; rather, it’s psychopathic. As Catholics, we’re required to have a clean heart to receive communion — a matter that is between the communion goer and our all knowing God, not the unknowing Burke. It’s as if, rather than saving souls, he’s making a concerted effort to steer Catholics to eternal damnation. This behavior certainly makes me question whether Burke’s heart is clean? Hasn’t the Catholic Church suffered enough embarassment in the past few years? We don’t need a Bishop who perpetuates shame.

A favor, folks: We’ve had Talk of the Day topics on Catholic issues and we’ve heard a number of screeds about the merits and demerits of Raymond Burke. Frankly, that kinda bores me right now. I’m eager for people to address the core question of this topic: Are there other circumstances when an employer would be within its rights to insist that its employees keep their personal views private if they conflict with the employer’s?

Hooray for Rick Majerus! Glad to see the man has the courage of his convictions– something that his students and players would be well to emulate. Burke obviously does not adhere to the very Catholic doctrine of human responsibility for one’s actions, and that it is the individual who will have to answer to God (not the archbishop) for statements and actions made under one’s own conscience, regardless of one church lawyer’s interpretation of right and wrong.

The church is ‘catholic’ and universal. To remain so, it must be tolerant, and embrace all well-meaning and defensible views on items of morality. Burke assaults nearly every time he opens his mouth to criticize someone in public. “Let he amongst you without sin, cast the first stone.” You know who said that.

In regards to what one may or may not say as a condition of employment. Those rules (if there are any) should be made clear when one hires on. A federal civil service employee cannot campaign for a candidate or an issue while on the job, but off the clock, he or she can do as they please, as long as their job isn’t mentioned, or people are led to believe that their opinions are corporate. Ditto merit system state employees. As others have pointed out: SLU is not an archdiocesan college. The courts say it isn’t even Catholic controlled. Even so, its Catholic presence, in the form of the Jesuits, answer directly to the pope, not to the archbishop, and the Jesuits have a long long tradition of militant conflict with the heirarchy, all in the name of God.

If being quiet is a condition of employment when one hires on, so be it. If not, it does not apply, and a person can and should speak freely.

Apparently, according to the reporting, Mr Majerus was ASKED about these issues — he wasn’t standing on the corner of Grand and Lindell with a placard, or wasting oil and energy travelling cross country to deny women’s rights to control their own bodies.

I realize SLU cannot take an official position annoying the archbishop– he’d excommunicate them en masse, too. But I hope they support Mr. Majerus in every way possible.