Controversial vaccine denier Cardinal Raymond Burke describes his recovery from COVID as ‘steady but slow’.
In a letter to his followers who are praying for him, Burke says he is experiencing difficulty in recovering from Covid-19 and is challenged to regain certain fundamental physical skills for daily living; among them, he lists general fatigue and difficulty in breathing.
He told his supporters that he’s pleased a secretary from Rome has moved in with him to help him with his rehabilitation and to catch up on his work.
He says he cannot predict when he will be able to return to his normal activities.
Discharged from the hospital on September 3, he is living in a house near his family.
On August 10, the 73-year-old Cardinal tweeted he had contracted the disease, and six days later, his staff tweeted he was on a ventilator.
Before being admitted to the hospital, Burke warned that governments were using fear of the pandemic to manipulate people.
In a homily given at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in December 2020, Burke referred to Covid-19 as the “mysterious Wuhan virus” warning “it has been used by certain forces, inimical to families and to the freedom of states, to advance their evil agenda.”
In May 2020, Burke said while the state can provide reasonable regulations for the safeguarding of health, it is not the only one and that the ultimate provider of health is God.
He accused the state of dictating to and manipulating its citizens through what they label as the ‘new normal’; recipes for fear and ignorance.
Speaking out against mandatory vaccinations, he said some in society want to implant microchips in people.
Earlier this month, Pope Francis said he doesn’t understand why people refuse to take the COVID-19 vaccine, acknowledging that “even in the College of Cardinals, there are some negationists.”
In a possible reference to Burke, he said one of the cardinals, a “poor guy”, had been hospitalized with the disease, adding: “Well, the irony of life.”
Until Francis removed him, Burke was a very powerful cardinal overseeing the Vatican’s supreme court and also a member of the Congregation of Bishops and Congregation for Divine Worship.
Burke says he is offering up his sufferings and prayers for the many intentions of his followers.