Cardinal Burke: Catholics may ‘legitimately object’ to pope’s remarks in some cases
Cardinal Raymond Burke said Catholics may object to some remarks from a pope, yet affirmed that the divinely instituted office of St. Peter must always be respected.
Cardinal Burke, Dec 2024.©@creativeoftheimmaculata/@timothyjosephthompson
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Thu Aug 20, 2026 - 3:43 pm EDT
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(LifeSiteNews) — In the opening episode of a new video series on Rome’s Seven Pilgrim Churches produced by the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Cardinal Raymond Burke addressed tensions surrounding the papal office while affirming its enduring divine foundation.
The series, which features Cardinal Burke alongside Father Chad Ripperger and Sean Pilcher with narration by David Bates of “Pints with Jack,” explores the ancient devotion popularized by St. Philip Neri in the 16th century. The first installment focuses on St. Peter’s Basilica and draws lessons from the Apostle’s own human frailty.
Naturally exploring the office of the papacy at the largest church in Christendom, built over the tomb of the prince of the apostles, Cardinal Burke addressed the delicate question of confusion that can arise among the faithful due to certain statements made by the pope, the successor of St. Peter.
“There’s been a fair amount of contention around the certain statements and certain actions of the pope, of the Roman pontiff,” the cardinal from Wisconsin observed. “And some people became confused because they objected, for instance, to some statement that the pope made or some action that he did, which they could do.”
Though the pope occupies an exalted and divinely instituted office as Vicar of Christ on earth, Cardinal Burke explained how he remains a mere man. “And sometimes the pope speaks as a man. And sometimes he speaks as the vicar of Christ on earth. And if the pope makes a spontaneous remark to some reporter or something, this is not the doctrine of the faith. And one could legitimately object to something that the pope said.”
Historically, Burke recalled, popes exercised greater caution in their public words. “In the past, popes were very hesitant to speak. They spoke very little because they didn’t want the faithful to be in any way confused with regard to what might be their own personal ideas and opinions and what they, as head of the Apostolic College, would proclaim.”
Such distinctions remain vital for the faithful to understand today, he emphasized. “This, I think, is so important for us today that even if we object to something that a particular pope may have said and done — this isn’t the first time this has happened in the history of the Church, as we well know.”
Church’s teaching on papal remarks nuanced
According to the teaching of the Second Vatican Council (LG 25), the authority of papal statements depends on multiple factors including what is said, the pope’s intention, the context, and how the statement relates to the Church’s established teaching — and not merely on the fact that the speaker is the pope.
An informal setting, such as a remark to a reporter, naturally indicates that the pope is answering questions pastorally, personally, or prudentially and certainly not formally defining doctrine.
Thus, as affirmed by Cardinal Burke, the faithful are generally not bound to give the assent of divine faith or definitive assent to an off-the-cuff comment to a reporter. Though they should receive it respectfully and with charity interpret it, as far as reason allows, in continuity with Catholic doctrine.
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Like all the faithful, pope bound by limits of Divine Revelation
In cases where such remarks from a pope objectively contradict established Catholic teaching, the faithful may legitimately recognize the contradiction and, when necessary, express a respectful public objection or a request for clarification. This is the case because like all the faithful, the pope remains subject to Divine Revelation, is not an arbitrary ruler but a servant to the Word of God and guardian of fidelity to the Church’s received faith.
As officially affirmed in 1998 by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) as prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith,
The Roman Pontiff — like all the faithful — is subject to the Word of God, to the Catholic faith, and is the guarantor of the Church’s obedience; in this sense he is servus servorum Dei. He does not make arbitrary decisions, but is spokesman for the will of the Lord, who speaks to man in the Scriptures lived and interpreted by Tradition; in other words, the episkope of the primacy has limits set by divine law and by the Church’s divine, inviolable constitution found in Revelation. The Successor of Peter is the rock which guarantees a rigorous fidelity to the Word of God against arbitrariness and conformism: hence the martyrological nature of his primacy.
‘Never lose respect for the office of St. Peter’
Yet, Cardinal Burke went on to affirm that any necessary private or public objection to remarks made by the pope must never undermine reverence for the office itself.
“We must never, ever lose respect for the office of St. Peter, the office conferred by Christ himself. Christ willed this. It’s divinely willed for the life of the Church that there be St. Peter as that firm, principal foundation of the unity of the Church.”
Burke underscores that this foundation has endured since the time of Christ throughout the centuries, “even if there were popes who did not fulfill their ministry in a worthy way. Nevertheless, the office of the Vicar of Christ on Earth stands and will always stand in the Catholic Church.”
‘God builds his Church from broken stones’
Discussing these important topics within the enduring expression of the Church’s faith within the stone of St. Peter’s Basilica, narrator David Bates described the altar of the Confession, where Mass is offered directly above the Apostle’s resting place.
“Here, the mystery of Christ’s choice comes into focus. Jesus called a man of profound zeal and relatable humanity, a man who would, in his darkest hour, deny his Lord three times,” he recalled. “Yet Christ looked past the moment of denial to the moment of reconciliation, when Peter, weeping on the shore of Galilee, heard the question asked three times. ‘Do you love me?’”
“Peter’s yes became the foundation of the Church,” Bates said. “The pilgrim who kneels here kneels at the place where frailty and faith meet, where God builds his Church from broken stones.”
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