Cardinal Raymond Burke, one of the Catholic Church’s most prominent conservative prelates, has officially announced improvement in his fight with COVID-19.
In a statement released Saturday, Burke said he has been transferred from the ICU back to his hospital room, where he is continuing to receive “vigilant, superb, and steadfast medical care” from doctors and nurses.
The former archbishop of St. Louis expressed gratitude and thanks to God, the hospital staff, the priests sacramentally ministering to him, and everyone who has offered “innumerable Rosaries and prayers, lighted candles, and requested the offering of the Holy Mass.”
Although no longer on a ventilator in the ICU, Cardinal Burke will soon begin the “intensive rehabilitation” he needs after nearly three weeks and counting in the hospital. He said he has accepted his suffering as part of God’s will to conform him more closely to Christ.
“Since Divine Providence has governed that I remain hospitalized for the present, I now reaffirm that same episcopal conviction: suffering, united with the suffering of Jesus Christ, is truly efficacious in His Divine Plan for our salvation when accepted willingly and wholeheartedly,” he wrote.
Alpha News has previously reported on the media’s apparent glee in their reporting of Cardinal Burke’s illness. Numerous mainstream outlets did not pass up an opportunity to call him an “outspoken vaccine skeptic” and accuse him of sharing “misinformation” about COVID.
Burke has been receiving medical care since at least August 10, when he first tweeted that he had tested positive for COVID and was “resting comfortably.” The situation took a turn for the worse a few days later, however, when he was placed on a ventilator in the ICU. Bishop Athanasius Schneider tweeted on August 17 that Cardinal Burke’s condition was “very serious,” even though doctors were said to be encouraged by his progress three days prior.
On August 21 the cardinal’s family announced the removal of his ventilator and his impending transfer out of the ICU. Burke’s statement confirming his improved condition on Saturday was his first direct communication to the public in two-and-a-half weeks.
Evan Stambaugh
Evan Stambaugh is a freelance writer who had previously been a sports blogger. He has a BA in theology and an MA in philosophy.
