Pope Francis decides to punish critic Cardinal Burke by cutting off his privileges

Pope Francis has decided to punish one of the high ranking critics, Cardinal Raymond Burke, by revoking his right to a subsidized Vatican apartment and salary in the second such radical action against Conservative American prelate this month, as per the source familiar with the matter.

In a meeting with heads of Vatican offices last week, Francis said he was moving against Burke because he was the source of “disunity” in the church, revealed one of the participants of the meeting, held on November 20. The participant has shared the insider information on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to reveal the contents of the encounter, as per AP News.

Francis said that he will removing Burke’s privileges of a subsidized Vatican apartment and salary as a retired cardinals, because he was using the mentioned privileges against the church, revealed another person, on the condition of anonymity, who was briefed on Pope’s measures.

Burke has not received any notification regarding the action being taken against him, reported Associated Press, citing his secretary’s text message.

Burke, 75, is a canon lawyer who was fired from Vatican high court in 2014 by Francis. He has become one of the biggest critic of Pope, his outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics and his reform projects to make the church more responsive to the needs of ordinary faithful.