Religious Freedom In A Pandemic

About this sermon

In a global pandemic, it's not unreasonable that public activities should be modified. But when the state's restrictions on public worship become overbearing, what should Catholic leaders and lay faithful do? Cardinal Raymond Burke and Fr. Paul Check give their thoughts. DONATE: https://give.catholic.com/castudios SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/user/catholiccom WEBSITE: https://www.catholic.com/ Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin, on June 30, 1948, the youngest of the six children of Thomas F. and Marie B. Burke. His elementary education was undertaken at St. Mary School in Richland Center (1954-1959) and at St. Joseph School in Stratford, Wisconsin (1959-1962). He attended high school at Holy Cross Seminary in La Crosse, Wisconsin, from 1962 to 1966, and also completed college courses there (1966 -1968) before attending the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he studied as a Basselin Scholar (1968 -1971). He undertook his studies for ordination at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (1971-1975) and was ordained to the priesthood by Pope Paul VI on June 29, 1975, at the Basilica of St. Peter. Burke’s first assignment was as associate rector of the Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman in La Crosse. In 1977 he took up the additional duty of teaching religion at Aquinas High School in La Crosse. In 1980 Burke returned to Rome to study Canon Law at the Pontifical Gregorian University. In April 1984, after completing his studies, he was named Moderator of the Curia and Vice Chancellor of the Diocese of La Crosse. In 1989 Burke returned to Rome when Pope John Paul II named him Defender of the Bond of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the first American to hold this position on the Church’s highest court. After five years in this post, the Holy Father appointed him Bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse on December 10, 1994. Burke was ordained to the episcopacy by Pope John Paul II on January 6, 1995, at the Basilica of St. Peter, and was installed in the Diocese of La Crosse on February 22, 1995, the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. On December 2, 2003, Burke was named Archbishop of St. Louis, succeeding Justin Cardinal Rigali, who was appointed Archbishop of Philadelphia in July 2003. Burke was installed in St. Louis on January 26, 2004, the fifth anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s historic pastoral visit to the archdiocese. Pope John Paul II invested him with the pallium on June 29, 2004, at the Basilica of St. Peter, in Rome. On July 8, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Burke to the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, where he had previously served as Defender of the Bond. He was elevated by Pope Benedict XVI to the Sacred College of Cardinals at a Papal Consistory in Rome on November 20, 2010, and is the current Cardinal Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura. Fr. Paul N. Check was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Bridgeport, CT in 1997. At the direction of Bishop Lori in 2002, he established a Courage chapter in his diocese for which he continues to serve as chaplain. He holds an STB from the Gregorian University and an STL from the University of the Holy Cross, both in Rome. He teaches fundamental moral theology and sexual and medical ethics to seminarians and permanent deacon candidates in the Bridgeport Diocese. Beginning in 1999, he has taught the two-week course in moral theology in the “Gift of Faith” syllabus for Blessed Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta. Father Check graduated from Rice University, TX in 1981 with a BA in history. He served as an officer in the US Marine Corps for nine years prior to entering the seminary. In 2008, he was selected to succeed Fr John Harvey as the Executive Director of Courage International, at the request of Fr Harvey and with the approval of Bishop Lori and Cardinal Dolan. He spends much of his time traveling and making presentations to clergy about the Church’s teaching about homosexuality and her pastoral response.

Topics

• Overcoming Obstacles