I am royally pissed off. Burke is a big bully on a power trip – threatening his followers into submission. No wonder the church is riddled with pedophiles – the Archbishop teaches power and control through his actions. If Burke were the CEO of a corporation the Board of Directors would have sent him packing already.
So where are all the Catholics in our region – rallying to save St. Stanislaus from being fleeced by the Archbishop and numerous parishes from being closed? They are kneeling in submission like the obedient slaves they are. Like the best controlling masters, he is pitting his slaves against each other in a survival of the fittest competition. The slaves of parishes remaining open and in the outlying areas of the Archdiocese see the closures as giving them strength – adding to their numbers. Never mind that a century of history will be lost all over the city as numerous parishes are closed.
So these good obedient Catholics remain silent. They are unwilling or too afraid to speak out against their master wielding his interdict whip. But, we’ve seen this silence before – during the Holocaust and recently with the whole pedophile priest scandal. Catholics – ask yourself how well that worked out? What good does your silence bring? You are the Enron employee that knows what is going on but says nothing until it blows up in your face. Speak up dammit.
So why am I so upset?
I am not Catholic.
It is not my church or heritage being destroyed, you say.
True enough.
However, I have a financial commitment to the City of St. Louis. My life is here. I care about what happens in our region. So much so, I cannot sit by and watch this power hungry man destroy decades of history and the future so many of us are building.
I earn my living as a REALTOR® and buyers get concerned when you’ve got boarded up churches down the street – it doesn’t exactly send a positive message. The proposed closures all over south City and in North County should be of concern to everyone in the region. The closures of churches on the North side in the last few decades were damaging to that part of the city. Those closings did not strengthen the remaining churches on the North side – it weakened their entire base. While I think the South side is in a stronger position going into these closings than the North side was it will still be a major setback to those neighborhoods. You weaken enough neighborhoods and you weaken the entire city. A weak city at the core creates a weak and non-competitive region.
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