Burke's Plea: No Crow
In a streaming-video statement released today, Archbishop Raymond Burke of St Louis takes issue with an appearance by the pop singer Sheryl Crow at a weekend benefit for a Catholic hospital there.
Saying that Crow -- herself a Missouri native -- is "well-known as an abortion activist" and that the entertainer "has lent her celebrity status to the promotion of legislation, such as Missouri’s Amendment 2, that creates legal protection for human cloning and the destruction of human beings who are embryos," Burke made public his protest over Crow's scheduled performance at Saturday's fund-raiser for SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center.
While the archbishop had previously requested that Crow be disinvited in private, he said that he's speaking out after having received definitive word from the event organizers that she will be attending and playing. "As the shepherd of this Archdiocese, I am required to address an issue that could call into question in the minds of the faithful the commitment of the medical center and the Archdiocese to the cause of life," he said in his statement, continuing that "When, for economic gain, a Catholic institution associates itself with such a high profile proponent of the destruction of innocent lives, members of the Church and other people of good will have the right to be confirmed in their commitment to the Gospel of Life." Burke has asked that his name be removed from materials promoting the event, and he announced that he has resigned as chair of the medical center's board of governors.
...as if the hubbub over Crow's recent exhortation on toilet paper wasn't enough controversy for one week.
-30-
Saying that Crow -- herself a Missouri native -- is "well-known as an abortion activist" and that the entertainer "has lent her celebrity status to the promotion of legislation, such as Missouri’s Amendment 2, that creates legal protection for human cloning and the destruction of human beings who are embryos," Burke made public his protest over Crow's scheduled performance at Saturday's fund-raiser for SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center.
While the archbishop had previously requested that Crow be disinvited in private, he said that he's speaking out after having received definitive word from the event organizers that she will be attending and playing. "As the shepherd of this Archdiocese, I am required to address an issue that could call into question in the minds of the faithful the commitment of the medical center and the Archdiocese to the cause of life," he said in his statement, continuing that "When, for economic gain, a Catholic institution associates itself with such a high profile proponent of the destruction of innocent lives, members of the Church and other people of good will have the right to be confirmed in their commitment to the Gospel of Life." Burke has asked that his name be removed from materials promoting the event, and he announced that he has resigned as chair of the medical center's board of governors.
...as if the hubbub over Crow's recent exhortation on toilet paper wasn't enough controversy for one week.
-30-
posted by Rocco Palmo at 16:20
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