Pope Francis made a surprising move over the weekend, as he continued to prove that he is trying to make the Catholic Church more inclusive. He demoted the highest-ranking American in Vatican City, outspoken anti-gay Cardinal Raymond Burke.
Burke, 66, was the head of the highest court until Saturday. Reuters reports that his new post is the chaplain of the Knights of Malta charity group, a ceremonial position with few responsibilities.
The move was made without any comment from the Vatican.
Burke clashed with Pope Francis’ recent comments, which have been more open and accepting towards the gay and lesbian community. As MSNBC notes, Burke was against any move to make the Catholic Church more liberal. In an interview with Buzzfeed, Burke suggested that the pope does not have the power to change the Church’s views.
“The pope, more than anyone else as the pastor of the universal church, is bound to serve the truth,” Burke told the site last month. “The pope is not free to change the church’s teachings with regard to the immorality of homosexual acts or the insolubility of marriage or any other doctrine of the faith.”
Burke successfully lead a group of other conservative cardinals to tone down an interim synod document that had initially been more open to the LGBT community. So, Burke certainly isn’t the only member of the Church in the Vatican not excited about Pope Francis’ views.
image courtesy of INFphoto.com