Eagle

Cardinal Burke is NOT the enemy! Please SHARE At the conclusion of this year’s Chartres Pilgrimage, His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke offered the pontifical Latin Mass in the iconic Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres. It was the most high profile TLM of 2026 and quickly became front page news from Paris to Rome. As Providence would have it, I found myself in the front row of the Cathedral for that Mass for only the second time in thirty-five years walking to Chartres. (In years past, I was always buried in the sea of pilgrim humanity outside, and happy to be in that company.) This year was different. So, for me the 2026 Pilgrimage to Chartres concluded with the unexpected honor of receiving Holy Communion from Cardinal Burke himself. This special little grace prompts me to briefly say something about the Cardinal, vis-à-vis the upcoming SSPX episcopal consecrations. In my latest Underground (link in comments), I demonstrate how the enemy’s main objective is to divide and conquer the clans of sacred Tradition and how, conversely, our main objective must be to not let that happen. One of the ways to not let that happen is to bear in mind that good men will come down on both sides of the issue of episcopal consecrations without papal mandate. No one disputes the fact that this is an extraordinary emergency measure – not without considerable controversy – and thus not everyone will be in lockstep agreement. A prince of the Church such as Raymond Cardinal Burke, for example, can be opposed to the SSPX decision for all the right reasons. If he genuinely believes the SSPX is going into schism on July 1, 2026, he has not only the right but also the duty before God to speak his mind for the good of souls, as he sees it. We need not anathematize him for this. Even if we disagree with Cardinal Burke on this – and I do! – we can nevertheless appreciate the Cardinal’s sense of duty and pastoral solicitude. He is NOT the enemy. He did not start the fire. The thing that puts us at odds over this is the Revolution itself. And if we turn against good and holy priests like Cardinal Burke over this issue then the Revolution wins. And we must not let that happen. I have lived through this once before, in 1988, and I know from experience that the civil war is so very avoidable. The SSPX is clear in their intentions: They are not leaving the Church. They are not denying the pope's authority. They are not going into schism. They are attempting, in accord with Canon Law, to prioritize the defense of the Faith itself as the first imperative, and to minister to souls during the most dangerous crisis of Faith in the history of the Church. (What is this crisis all about and why is it without precedent? See my new Underground, link in comments) And so, with all due respect, I disagree with Cardinal Burke on this issue. And that is all. I am not infallible. I could be wrong. But this is how I see it. And, despite this disagreement, I am forever grateful to His Eminence for what he has done to stand with us and to help raise the profile of the traditional Catholic restoration movement worldwide. Bottom line: I have listened to and prayerfully considered Cardinal Burke’s arguments on this question, and I have done the same with those of His Excellency Bishop Athanasius Schneider (with whom I find myself in agreement). So be it. There will be no circular firing squad, no mutually assured destruction, no civil war. We put it all in God’s hands and then return to the battlefield together – to fight against the real enemy, who hates our God, our Church, and everything we hold sacred. Let us not forget who the real enemy is . . . and it is certainly not Cardinal Burke! God bless the SSPX, God bless the FSSP, God bless Cardinal Burke, God bless Bishop Schneider – and to hell with the evil Spirit of Vatican II that if we let it in, will divide and conquer us all. So, please God, let’s not let it in.

JUST IN: Pope Leo XIV says Christian's cannot promote war.

It sorta cracks me up that the SSPX General Superior seems to think that he is entitled to an audience with the Holy Father.