If it comes to a showdown between one of America’s most successful college basketball coaches and one of the country’s most outspoken Catholic bishops, who do you think will win?

Whispers in the Loggia flagged this story yesterday. Here’s the poop — and at the link, you can also find video of the controversial interview in question:

St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke said this morning that St. Louis University basketball coach Rick Majerus should be disciplined over his public comments supporting abortion rights and stem cell research.

Majerus made his comments at a campaign appearance for Hillary Rodham Clinton on Saturday night during an interview with KMOV (Channel 4).

During an interview with the Post-Dispatch today in Washington, where Burke is attending the March for Life, he said the coach should be disciplined.

“It’s not possible to be a Catholic and hold those positions,” Burke said. “When you take a position in a Catholic university, you don’t have to embrace everything the Catholic church teaches. But you can’t make statements which call into question the identity and mission of the Catholic church.”

The archbishop declined to offer specifics of what discipline Majerus should face. “I’m confident it (the university) will deal with the question of a public representative making declarations that are inconsistent with the Catholic faith.”

Majerus made his comments to the TV station at the rally at McCluer North High School.

Burke declined to say if he thought Majerus should be fired, but added, “You can’t have a Catholic university with one of its prominent staff making declarations” that are in conflict with the church.

A spokesman for the university, Jeff Fowler, said Majerus’ comments were not related to his role at the university.

“Rick’s comments were his own personal view. They were made at an event he did not attend as a university representative,” Fowler said. “It was his own personal visit to the rally. The comments were his, he was not speaking for the university in whatever comments he made to Channel 4.”