Burke has built a reputation as an outspoken conservative. He drew attention in the U.S. in 2004 when he said he would deny Holy Communion to Democratic presidential nominee, John Kerry, a Roman Catholic who supports abortion rights.
Pope Francis reassigned Burke from the Vatican court in 2014 after he said the church was like a ship with no rudder.
Burke also criticized the University of Notre Dame, in 2009, over its plans to give then-President Barack Obama an honorary degree because Obama supports abortion. In March of this year, he criticized Pope Francis for issuing a decree limiting the Latin Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica to two hours a day in the structure’s grottos.
He also has criticized how governments have handled the pandemic, referring to the virus in a homily last December as the “Wuhan virus,” a derogatory term coined by former President Donald Trump to describe the coronavirus and warning people that governments were manipulating them. In May 2020, he spoke out against mandatory vaccinations, saying some in society want to implant microchips in people.
He said in March 2020 that the best weapon for battling “the evil of the coronavirus” is a relationship with Jesus Christ.
