VATICAN CITY
The Tablet (UK)
07 November 2014 17:09 by Christopher Lamb
Pope Francis today announced that Cardinal Raymond Burke, a leading conservative voice in the Church, would be moved from a senior position in the Vatican to become Patron of the Order of Malta.
In a widely expected move, Cardinal Burke will no longer be Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura – the Church’s supreme court – but instead take on a largely ceremonial role for the ancient order which undertakes charitable initiatives across the world.
The 66-year-old American cardinal has been an outspoken critic of the recent Synod on the Family in Rome where many participants called for the Church to adopt less harsh language when talking about homosexuality, the divorced and remarried, and cohabiting couples.
Burke has also contributed to a book opposing proposals by Cardinal Walter Kasper, who suggested the Church permit divorced and remarried couples to receive Communion in certain circumstances. Cardinal Kasper’s theology has been publicly praised by Pope Francis.
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