Pope Francis’ Liberal Views Slammed By American Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke

Pope Francis has many fans around the world but one could argue that Roman Catholic Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, the former Archbishop of St. Louis, is not one of them. The American Cardinal spoke to Spanish religious weekly, Vida Nueva, last week and stated that there was “a strong sense that the Church is like a ship without a rudder.”

Cardinal Burke, who currently is the Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, vocalized his hesitations with Pope Francis' direction and liberal attitude. The religious leader referred to marriage as “the pillar of the Church" and did not support the Argentine Pope's views on pre-marital sex, homosexuality and divorce.

“If we don’t teach that truth and live it well, we will be lost,” Cardinal Burke said. “We would cease to be the Church.”

It should be pointed out that the Cardinal did not outright speak out against Pope Francis or his views. Instead, he referred to homosexuality as a "suffering," adding: “I do not talk about people being homosexual, because nobody is identified purely by that tendency.”

This contradicts the views of Pope Francis, who previously went on record to state he would not judge a homosexual.

"If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?" said Pope Francis in a news conference aboard the papal plane while traveling back to Rome for World Youth Day. "There's a lot of talk about the gay lobby, but I've never seen it on the Vatican ID card! When I meet a gay person, I have to distinguish between their being gay and being part of a lobby. If they accept the Lord and have goodwill, who am I to judge them? They shouldn't be marginalized. The tendency (to homosexuality) is not the problem ... they're our brothers."

The Pope's literal attitude may be making a difference, as Reuters reported earlier this year that a Vatican document — which was created after a week-long discussion of 200 bishops on family — stated that homosexuals have "gifts and qualities to offer."

"Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer the Christian community: are we capable of welcoming these people, guaranteeing to them a further space in our communities? Often they wish to encounter a Church that offers them a welcoming home," said the document. "Are our communities capable of proving that, accepting and valuing their sexual orientation, without compromising Catholic doctrine on the family and matrimony?"

But Cardinal Burke seems to disagree with the Pope's words and views.

“He said that he couldn’t judge a person before God, regardless of what they might be guilty of,” the Cardinal told Vida Nueva. “But actions should be judged, and I don’t believe the pope thinks differently. [Homosexual acts] are sinful and unnatural. The pope never said that we can find positive elements in them. It’s impossible to find something positive in an evil act.”