Pope Francis has decided to punish one of his highest-ranking critics, Cardinal Raymond Burke, by revoking his right to a subsidized Vatican apartment and salary in the second such radical action against a conservative American prelate this month, according to two people briefed on the measures.
Francis told a meeting of the heads of Vatican offices last week that he was moving against Burke because he was a source of “disunity” in the church, said one of the participants at the Nov. 20 meeting. The participant spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to reveal the contents of the encounter.
Francis said he was removing Burke’s privileges of having a subsidized Vatican apartment and salary as a retired cardinal because he was using the privileges against the church, said another person who was subsequently briefed on the pope’s measures. That person also spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to reveal the details.
IIRC, the Pope is only considered infallible when they say they are. Otherwise they’re just speaking as the highest ranking member. So most of the time what they say is not treated by members of the clergy as the literal word of god.
Maybe other Catholics are more in the know, but this isn’t a distinction I was aware of when I was a practicing Catholic. That might be because the Pope really didn’t come up much at all. I’m sure he influenced policy, but his words seemed to come up in the news, and not really much outside that.