To most people, Burke is best known for his response to the sex abuse scandal among Catholic priests. He blamed it on “women”. In particular, he blamed it on the perceived “feminization” of the Catholic Church by “radical feminism” in the church (he didn’t mention examples or try to define “radical feminism”): radical feminism has “assaulted the Church and society since the 1960s has left men very marginalized” and forced men to wear dresses led to a lack of emphasis on issues ostensibly important to men, like sex chivalry. That’s apparently why pedophile priests assault young boys. He did not, for obvious reasons, try to explain the causal relationship in further detail.
No fan of same-sex marriage, Burke has called such marriage “a work of deceit, a lie about the most fundamental aspect of our human nature […] There is only one place these types of lies come from, namely Satan. It is a diabolical situation which is aimed at destroying individuals, families, and eventually our nation.” Yes, he’s strong on melodrama and correspondingly thin on detailsin his attempts to explain things. He then suggested that parents should not allow their children to have contact with sexually active gay people and discourage them from attending family gatherings such as Christmas parties. He has also suggested that gay marriage is a sign of “end times”.
In 2019, Burke and German cardinal Walter Brandmuller wrote a letter to the pope calling for an end to “the plague of the homosexual agenda,” which they blamed for the sexual abuse crisis in the Church (whatever suits them at the moment, apparently), and claimed that the homosexual agenda was spread by “organized networks”. Burke has also compared embryonic stem cell research to slavery – apparently scientists are using the stem cells as “slaves”.
He really let his true colors fly in his take on the COVID-19 pandemic, however, going full-on conspiracy theorist: According to Burke, “the mysterious Wuhan virus” is being used by “certain forces ... to advance their evil agenda” and force people to become “subjects of the so-called ‘Great Reset’, the ‘new normal’, which is dictated to us by their manipulation of citizens and nations through ignorance and fear.” And as for the vaccine, Burke denounced it as“state-mandated microchipping” that “violates the integrity of citizens”. He also invoked the tired and utterly dumb “aborted fetal tissue” gambit. And criticized social distancing for good measure.
Then, of course, he got COVID-19, and was put on a ventilator.
Diagnosis: A pitiful excuse for a human being, flailing conspiracy theorist and otherwise fairly unoriginal as a cartoon villain, Raymond Burke is a thoroughly evil man. But he’s managed to sustain a significant career in a huge organization that seems to tend to struggle to weed out rot, and though he comes across as a natural target for pointing and laughing, he enjoys plenty of power and influence. This is a guy who has ruined lives, and who will continue to do so. Dangerous.