Raymond Burke, the Archbishop of St. Louis, is moving to Rome to be the top Vatican canon lawyer. Burke served as the Bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin for several years prior to his tenure in St. Louis. While in La Crosse, Burke made a name for himself by threatening to withhold communion from U.S. Representative David Obey, a Catholic who heads the powerful House Appropriations Committee, due to Obey's positions that were not anti-abortion enough. People in the Diocese of La Crosse figured that Burke was making waves so that he would be noticed by senior Vatican officials. It worked. He was appointed to St. Louis where he has probably excommunicated as many people as he has ordained. Now, he is moving on to the Vatican.
The hope in some parts of Wisconsin is that a pattern will be followed. Burke moved from being a bishop in a Wisconsin diocese to St. Louis. Some have already speculated that Robert Morlino, the controversial leader of the Diocese of Madison will be considered for St. Louis - a step up from leading a diocese to leading an archdiocese.
The recent floods in the midwest have shown that Wisconsin's mess moves down the Mississippi to St. Louis. Perhaps there is an analogy in the movement of bishops between Wisconsin and Missouri.
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