After a relatively brief, and somewhat stormy tenure as archbishop of the Catholic church in St. Louis, Raymond Burke is leaving. He’s expected to remain until a bit later in the summer, when he moves to Rome for his position as “Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature.”
Burke’s time in St. Louis has been marked by a number of controversies. He has condemned the ordination of “women priests” by another faith community. He has been in a battle over control of St. Stanislaus Church in St. Louis. He said he would not offer communion to politicians who do not stand by Catholic church doctrine.
What does his departure mean for the church here now? What are the qualities you’d like to see in his successor?

Kurt has been an editor at the Post-Dispatch since August 2002, working on both STLtoday and the newspaper. He's been a journalist since 1982, covering municipal government, courts, education and two hurricanes as a reporter before becoming an editor.
241 Comments