US cardinal Raymond Burke stokes papal tensions by meeting nationalist in Rome [View all]

A powerful American cardinal who is engaged in a bitter feud with Pope Francis has met Matteo Salvini, the rightwing Italian nationalist who is a staunch supporter of Donald Trump and has praised Benito Mussolini.

The reported meeting between Cardinal Raymond Burke and Salvini, the head of the Northern League party, is a sign that intense divisions between traditionalists and the pope are becoming increasingly political.

Pope Francis’s allies in the church, who back his message of inclusion and support for immigrants, are speaking out against the US president’s travel ban against refugees and immigrants from majority-Muslim countries. Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, who was recently promoted by Francis, called Trump’s executive order “the opposite of what it means to be an American.” Tobin has also suggested that Trump is a conman.

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The meeting could be a way for Burke – the unofficial head of the most conservative and traditional elements within the Roman Catholic church – to send a message to other conservatives. The next Italian election could be called as early as this summer. While Salvini has the support of only about 13% of Italian voters, a meeting between Burke and the rightwing leader could be an attempt by Burke to urge conservatives to rally around the Northern League.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/05/us-cardinal-raymond-burke-stokes-papal-tensions-by-meeting-nationalist-in-rome