Leo XIV Must Get the Bishops' Appointments Right – Cardinal Burke

Leo XIV’s consistory in January did not involve a general debate, Cardinal Raymond Burke told Edward Pentin for his Substack.com-account on 16 January.

The consistory adopted a format closer to Francis’s synods, with discussion confined almost entirely to small groups:"All the discussion took place in the small group, and then in the general session there was simply a report from the secretaries."

Divide and Conquer

Burke added that the way the consistory was structured did not allow for so-called free interventions.

The two plenary sessions permitted only brief interventions: "Each intervention was limited to three minutes, so just 15 cardinals could speak in one session."

With more than 160 cardinals present, many were left unheard.

In the small groups, "the topics were assigned, and then there was a whole structure that had to be followed at the tables".

Every Pope Appoints the Bishops He Wants

Beyond the consistory itself, Cardinal Burke expressed concerns about the Pope’s many public encounters and his emphasis on "pastoral closeness". Cardinal Burke knows that the Pope needs time to govern the Church, especially for "the appointment of bishops, which is one of the most important things the Pope does".

"He really must be alert and have time to study those dossiers."

The most important phrase is a quotation from Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, who lived near Cardinal Burke: "If the Church gets two things right, everything else will fall into place: the appointment of bishops and the running of seminaries."

Picture: Raymond Burke © Edward Pentin, #newsZoawsgqjfj