Speakers
Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke “Other Canonical Questions regarding the Sacrament of Penance”
His Eminence, Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin, on June 30, 1948, the youngest of six children. He began his priestly formation as a high school student at Holy Cross Seminary in La Crosse. After studying philosophy at The Catholic University of America and theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, he was ordained to the holy priesthood by Pope Paul VI at St. Peter’s Basilica on June 29, 1975.
As a priest, Father Burke served as Associate Rector of the Cathedral of Saint Joseph the Workman in La Crosse, and also taught religion at Aquinas High School.
In 1980, he returned to Rome for studies in Canon Law, and obtained a Doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1984. He subsequently served as Moderator of the Curia and Vice Chancellor of the Diocese of La Crosse. In 1989, he was appointed Defender of the Bond at the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura in Rome.
On December 10, 1994, Monsignor Burke was appointed Bishop of La Crosse by Pope Saint John Paul II, who consecrated him a Bishop on January 6, 1995. After almost nine years of service as Bishop of La Crosse, during which he founded the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe at La Crosse, Bishop Burke was named Archbishop of Saint Louis, and was installed on January 26, 2004. On June 27, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Archbishop Burke Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura. He was elevated to the College of Cardinals on November 20, 2010. Appointed in November of 2014, Cardinal Burke was the Cardinal Patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. In September of 2017, Cardinal Burke was appointed as a member of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura. As Founder of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Cardinal Burke continues to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The Reverend Sean Regan DeWitt “Vigilance and US Tribunals” and “Post MIDI Time-Up”
Father DeWitt, born on 26 June 1989 in Corpus Christi, Texas, is a priest of the Diocese of Austin, ordained on 9 July 2016. He began working as an Official at the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura in October 2018 and recently defended his Doctorate in Canon Law at the Pontifical Gregorian University in December 2024. Fr. DeWitt is currently enrolled in the Studium Rotale to become a Rotal Advocate.
The Reverend Vincent W. Woo “The Inviolability of the Seal of Confession from the Perspective of Canon Law“
Father Vincent Woo is an Assistant Professor at St. Patrick’s Seminary and University in Menlo Park, California, where he teaches canon law. He also serves as Director of Liturgy and as a spiritual director for seminarians. In addition, he is on the faculty of the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music and the Permanent Deacon Formation Program of the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
He received the doctorate in canon law from The Catholic University of America in 2023, after completing degrees at UCLA and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He previously served as priest-secretary to Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone and oversaw the Office of Worship of the Archdiocese. His scholarly work in sacramental and liturgical law has appeared in The Jurist and Studia Canonica. He has presented papers at the Speculum Iustitiae Conference (2024), the Fons et Culmen Sacred Liturgy Summit (2025), and the CLSA Convention (forthcoming, 2026).
Attorney David K. DeWolf “The Inviolability of the Seal of Confession from the Perspective of Civil Law”
David K. DeWolf is emeritus professor at Gonzaga Law School in Spokane, Washington. He is currently a Visiting Professor at St. Thomas University College of Law in Miami, Florida. Professor DeWolf graduated from Yale Law School in 1979 and clerked for the Honorable Stephen Bistline of the Idaho Supreme Court. He practiced law in Spokane, Washington until 1984 when he began his teaching career at Oklahoma City University School of Law. He returned to Spokane in 1988 to join the Gonzaga Law faculty and retired as emeritus professor in 2016.
He has authored several articles addressing the proper interpretation of the religion clauses of the U.S. Constitution. In 2025 he served as local counsel to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in appearing as an amicus in the litigation seeking to enjoin legislation in Washington State that would have required priests to violate the seal of confession.
