St. Louis Prelate Aims to Bring Flock in Line

Peter Slevin reported in yesterday's Washington Post on Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis. The quality of the article's journalism has come in for some criticism. It includes this, apparently intended for balance.

Burke "has relatively little concern for, let's say, negative reaction," said James Hitchcock, a professor at Saint Louis University who writes for the diocesan press and calls Burke "a very humble man in his personal life."

"He sees himself as being obliged to do what he thinks is the right thing, and he's not too concerned with strategy or how he might finesse the thing," Hitchcock said. "There are quite obviously deep divisions within the church. Archbishop Burke is one bishop who has chosen to confront them directly, as opposed to other bishops who may prefer to minimize them."

Confronting directly and minimizing sound like tactics, and tactics that, without strategy, leave the bishops likely to being outflanked.