The two new American cardinal-designates are men of the Church with
impressive pastoral pedigrees but decidedly different pastoral styles.
Pope Benedict XVI’s Oct. 20 selection of Archbishops Raymond L. Burke
and Donald D. Wuerl had been widely predicted by Vatican analysts.
Archbishop Wuerl is the head of the Church in the nation’s capital, a
position that traditionally has earned a cardinal’s rank.
Archbishop
Burke is the head of the most important tribunal in the Vatican, the
Apostolic Signatura, the Church’s supreme court.
Cardinal-designate Burke, 62, is widely known for emphasizing the
importance of a distinctive Catholic identity and for advocating a bold
Catholic witness in American public life. First as bishop of La Crosse,
Wisc., where he served from 1995-2003, and later as Archbishop of St.
Louis, where he served from 2003-2008, he spoke out frequently about
Catholic obligations on crucial moral issues such as abortion and
same-sex marriage.
In both the 2004 and 2008 U.S. election campaigns, he stated that
Catholic politicians who advocate legalized abortion should not present
themselves for communion.
He made headlines again recently in Rome for a stirring speech in
which he called for the public “repentance” of Catholic politicians who
support political positions that are immoral and at odds with the
Church.
"It is not possible to be a practicing Catholic and conduct oneself
publicly in this manner," he said in an Oct. 14 address to Human Life
International, he decried “cafeteria Catholicism,” or the bad habit of
some to pick and choose which of the Church’s teachings to obey.
Cardinal-designate Wuerl, 69, spent a decade in Rome as secretary
secretary to Cardinal John Wright, then-head of the Congregation for
Clergy, Rome, 1969-79. He is noted for his noted for his emphasis on
catechesis and Catholic education and is the author of numerous books.
On the day before his appointment as cardinal, Archbishop Wuerl, a
former seminary rector, announced plans to open a new seminary in
Washington.
Since being installed in Washington in 2006, Cardinal-designate Wuerl
has been a strong voice for the Church’s teachings on abortion and gay
marriage. Last year, he challenged a new District of Columbia marriage
law that mandated local organizations to provide spousal benefits for
same-sex couples.
He fought unsuccessfully for an exemption for Catholic
institutions and was forced to shut down some operations of Catholic
Charities and to end health benefits to Charities’ employees rather than
comply with the law.
On the question of excommunicating Catholic politicians, he has taken a different approach from Archbishop Burke.
Archbishop Wuerl made headlines in Jan. 2007 when he opted not to
intervene regarding House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's participation in a Mass
at her alma mater of Trinity Washington University despite her open
support of abortion, embryonic research, and same-sex marriage.
Asked to do so as he participated in the same Mass, he refused,
explaining later that he found it to be "a matter between the university
and Nancy" and that the approach differed from his style of pastoral
ministry.
“It is extremely difficult to make a public judgment about the state
of the soul of someone else,” Archbishop Wuerl said. “Our task," he
said, "is to convince people and win people over to what is the correct
view.”
One prominent American archbishop who did not receive the Pope's nod
for the coming consistory is Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York.
He was likely ruled out as a candidate because his predecessor,
Cardinal Edward Egan, has not yet reached the age of 80 and is still
eligible to vote in the case of a papal election.
Traditionally, the
Pope does not select two voting-eligible cardinals from the same
jurisdiction. Cardinal Egan will turn 80 on April 2, 2012.
SIC: CNA/INT'L