Cardinal Burke warns of ‘practical abandonment of salvation in Christ’ within the Church, society

(LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Raymond Burke is warning of “the practical abandonment of salvation in Christ” and “so much infidelity” in the Catholic Church and society.

“Today, in society and in the Church, we are witnesses to so much infidelity, to the practical abandonment of salvation in Christ and the pursuit of happiness in the things of the world, the pursuit of happiness where it can never be found,” the former prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, the Catholic Church’s highest court, wrote in a recent X post.

“Today, in society and in the Church, we are witnesses to so much infidelity, to the practical abandonment of salvation in Christ and the pursuit of happiness in the things of the world, the pursuit of happiness where it can never be found. Such infidelity breeds division, error,… pic.twitter.com/muYtM9gFtt

— Cardinal Burke (@cardinalrlburke) September 18, 2024

Cardinal Burke pointed out that infidelity to Christ leads to confusion and social evils such as violence.

“Such infidelity breeds division, error, and violence,” he said. “It leads to alienation from God and from our neighbor, to the isolation and desolation of a heart disdainful of the spiritual maternity of Mary’s Immaculate Heart and rebellious before the glorious-pierced Heart of Jesus.”

His post concluded by urging people to join his nine-month novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe, which implores Her “intercession against the darkness and sin which ever more envelop the world and menace the Church” and for daily conversion of life to Jesus. 

The novena, which can be joined at any time, can be found here. Prayer cards and posters of the novena can be found here.

Cardinal Burke’s post came days after Pope Francis claimed that “every religion is a way to arrive at God,” appearing to deny that Catholicism is the one true religion and that Jesus Christ is the universal way of salvation.

Different religions “are like different languages in order to arrive at God,” Francis said at an inter-religious event in Singapore. “Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, Christian – they are different paths.”

Francis’ comments contradict the Catholic faith, which professes that the Catholic Church is necessary for salvation and that Jesus Christ is the one Mediator of salvation for all humanity, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches. The Church condemns the error of indifferentism and the false idea that “one religion is as good as another.”‌

Pope Francis’ comments have faced strong criticism from prelates such as Bishop Joseph Strickland, the former bishop of Tyler, Texas, and Bishop Marian Eleganti, the former auxiliary bishop of Chur, Switzerland. However, Francis has continued to flout Catholic teaching, saying last week that different “religious identities” are “a gift of God.”

In a recent homily, Cardinal Burke lamented “the rebellion within the Church herself, in apostasy from Christ, from the Apostolic Tradition” and called on Catholics to “transform the situation of the world and the Church by overcoming in our lives any sin and darkness, by daily turning to Christ and seeking to follow Him with all our heart,” echoing his novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The cardinal said in an interview on EWTN Live that over 150,000 people have officially enrolled to pray the novena, which has been translated into 11 languages, and that “800,000 visit our website.” 

“In this situation, which seems apocalyptic – we seem to be just going deeper and deeper in darkness and sin – people are receiving the grace of hope through this prayer,” he said in the interview. “That is exactly why I decided it should be nine months. The situation is such that need to enter as deeply as possible.” 

The novena will conclude with an act of consecration at Cardinal Burke’s Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on December 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, “which signifies that our lives will continue to be lives under the care and protection and direction of Our Lady of Guadalupe,” the prelate said.