Pope Francis has taken away the pay of retired Cardinal Raymond Burke as well as his entitlement to a subsidized apartment within the Vatican.
One of the most vocal detractors of the pope's outreach to the LGBT community and other liberal policies has been the firmly anti-LGBTQ+ Burke.
"Francis told a meeting of the heads of Vatican offices last week that he was moving against Burke since he was a source of 'disunity' in the church," the Associated Press notes, quoting an unidentified source. As of Tuesday, Burke had not gotten any indication of the activity; his secretary informed the AP. The Vatican spokesman contacted by The New York Times would not confirm or refute the story.
The Times notes, "almost as soon as Pope Francis became the head of the Roman Catholic church in 2013, Burke emerged as his leading critic from inside the church, becoming a de facto antipope for frustrated traditionalists who believed Francis was diluting doctrine."
Most recently, Burke was among five retired cardinals who asked the pope questions on his opinions on marriage equality and same-sex unions, women in the priesthood, and who is the ultimate earthly authority of the Catholic Church. Though he said they should not be regarded as marriages, Francis answered by stating he would be open to some sort of blessing for same-sex unions and mentioned the ordination of women "can be the object of study." Still, he made no definite changes.