(Archbishop Burke with Seminarians at the 2008 March for Life)
St. Louis' Archbishop Burke seems to be getting some press again [AP News] for some of his pastoral work in the Archdiocese. He has consistently been correcting public personalities (celebrities, politicians, and now Catholic university representatives) on their stances as Catholics 'in favor of choice' (i.e. pro-abortion). The media should not be surprised when our Archbishop takes a stand for life and for the Church, because his actions (as leader of the Church in St. Louis) are the same as the kind of actions any CEO would take when one of the CEO's employees contradicts his employee contract. In the Archbishop's case, he is more merciful than a CEO, because he calls the individual to repentance, and even prays for his or her reconciliation. Show me a corporate CEO who does that for rebellious employees, and I'll give you a dollar.
So many people today are bringing scandal upon the Catholic Church, and many don't even know they are doing it. Archbishop Burke is doing a wonderful thing, trying to help certain individual Catholics (consider the case of Sr. Louise Lears at St. Cronan parish [St. Louis Catholic]) become better Catholics and return to God by showing them how to avoid scandal. A Catholic celebrity, using his or her public position to promote a pro-abortion belief (or even to let it be known that he or she is pro-abortion), needs to know that his or her soul is in grave danger.
For an alternative view of certain Bishops' heroic actions, please read Anita Crane's article about Judge Andrew Napolitano's support of bishops who stand for what the Catholic Church teaches [Celebrate Life Magazine].
[UPDATE: There's an article with an interview with Archbishop Burke concerning his comments about SLU basketball coach Rick Majerus on stlreview.com]