Off to Rome

St. Louis’ archconservative Archbishop Raymond Burke is moving up in the world and out of town. On the religion beat for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Tim Townsend reports that Burke has been appointed to head the Vatican’s supreme court. His modest new title: Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature. As such, Burke will doubtless rule on matters of canon law with the same warm, human touch that has endeared him to so many here in St. Louis.

Patricia Rice, former religion writer for the P-D and now with the St. Louis Beacon, provides some background on Burke’s new position:

The Signatura is the court of last resort within the church, its Supreme Court. Its prefect is its administrator and something like a chief justice who has one vote along with the 20 other judges. Appointing an American to that post seems like common sense. Since 2002, many of the cases being appealed are brought by priests from the U.S., Ireland and Australia. They are men whose bishops want to laicize them - take away their rights of ministry - because of sexual abuse of minors. An English speaker who has seen how the scandal has ravaged the church and dispirited both the clergy and laity would have an advantage.

The post is an important Vatican desk job. Unless there is rare hullabaloo over a case the leader is not much in the public eye.

One big unanswered question: when Burke leaves, will he get to take with him the several souls he excommunicated in his brief tenure here, or will he be compelled to open the Mason jar on his nightstand and release them back into the wild?

Back at the P-D, social media director Kurt Greenbaum has set up a Talk of the Day blog post where readers can share the love on Burke.

Note: I had heard a rumor to this effect a month or so ago, from someone who shall go nameless here. Wasn’t sure how much weight to give it at the time. Now I know.

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