function onPlayerReadyVidible(e){'undefined'!=typeof HPTrack&&HPTrack.Vid.Vidible_track(e)}!function(e,i){if(e.vdb_Player){if('object'==typeof commercial_video){var a='',o='m.fwsitesection='+commercial_video.site_and_category;if(a+=o,commercial_video['package']){var c='&m.fwkeyvalues=sponsorship%3D'+commercial_video['package'];a+=c}e.setAttribute('vdb_params',a)}i(e.vdb_Player)}else{var t=arguments.callee;setTimeout(function(){t(e,i)},0)}}(document.getElementById('vidible_1'),onPlayerReadyVidible); An arch-conservative American cardinal has denied that his sudden posting to Guam in the wake of a Vatican fake news attack on Pope Francis is a punishment from the liberal pontiff.The Vatican dispatched Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke to Guam to be the judge at a trial there of an archbishop who was removed from office last year after several allegations of child sex abuse. Burke insisted the trial will likely be finished by the summer and told Mediaset in Italy that the posting was normal and not a punishment from the pope, though the two men have clashed in the past.Burke was named in a recent New York Times article as a friend of Donald Trumps top aide Steve Bannon. Theyre both members of an emboldened Catholic power baseself-described rad trads, or radical traditionalistspushing for a stricter interpretation of Church teachings, according to the Times.The pope, on the other hand, is one of the more liberal pontiffs of the last several decades. He preaches compassion, has encouraged protesting to achieve justice, is concerned about climate change and has attacked policies of the Trump administration without mentioning the presidents name.Burke recently angered the pope after reportedly demanding the suspension of a leader of a traditionally conservative Catholic charity organization, the Knights of Malta, for arranging the distribution of free condoms in Myanmar. Francis also was recently the target of a fake publication designed by conservatives to look like the official Vatican newspaper. A phony interview in the paper mocked his liberal views.Burkes Guam trial is already experiencing trouble. An altar boy who had accused the local archbishop of sex abuse hasrefused to take the stand, the Catholic News Agency reported.His lawyer complained that the boy would be intimidated at the hearing because he would be surrounded and questioned by Catholic priests acting as the defense attorney, the prosecutor and the judgeyet the boys lawyer would not be allowed to be present to advise his client. Advocates for victims of priest sex abuse complained about the choice of Burke for the case. They said the conservative cardinal has in other cases consistently defended accused clergy and played hardball with victims, Anne Barrett Doyle, a co-director of BishopAccountability.org told the Pacific Daily News.type=type=RelatedArticlesblockTitle=Related Coverage + articlesList=5877974fe4b065be690991f1,5772ad10e4b0dbb1bbbc21d3,5603eb9ae4b08820d91bb060,565d8439e4b079b2818b9a53 -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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