A senior Vatican official who spoke on the condition of anonymity claimed that the pope had said Burke, who is a well-known critic of Francis, was "working against the Church and against the papacy" and was creating "disunity" in the church, according to Reuters.
In addition to taking away his living quarters, a report from The New York Times said that an anonymous Vatican official said that Pope Francis also intends to cease Burke's retired cardinal salary during a meeting held with other authorities in the Church.
The news of the potential eviction was initially disclosed by the conservative Italian newspaper La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, according to The Times, known for its proximity to Cardinal Burke.
This comes after Francis' forced removal of another outspoken conservative critic, Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, after a Vatican investigation into his diocese. No reason was given for the removal at the time.
Strickland reacted to the reports of Francias' plan to strip Burke of his home and salary on X, writing: "If this is accurate it is an atrocity that must be opposed. If it is false information it needs to be corrected immediately."
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni has refused to confirm or deny the report, with The Times saying he told reporters, "I don’t have anything particular to say about that."
Burke and Francis have a history; the pope removed Burke from his position as head of a Vatican tribunal in 2014, just a year after he had first assumed the papacy. The new position, per Reuters, was largely ceremonial, with the switch coming just a few days after Burke had said the Catholic Church under the leadership of Francis was "like a ship without a rudder."
Burke, much like the recently removed Bishop Strickland, also challenged the recent synod, a global month-long Vatican meeting in which various important matters concerning the Church are discussed and voted on. Just prior to that meeting, Burke issued a proclamation for a defense against the "poison of confusion, error and division" in the Church.
Reuters reports that Burke has not yet been officially briefed on the pope's alleged decision.
