INTERVIEW WITH H.E. GERHARD LUDWIG CARDINAL MÜLLER
KNOW THE FAITH, LIVE WITH THE CHURCH are therefore pleased to print the full text of the Manifesto as well as the following interview that His Eminence granted to Calx Mariae.
H.E. GERHARD LUDWIG CARDINAL MÜLLER
W
e are very pleased to publish an interview with His Eminence Gerhard Ludwig Cardinal Müller, KGCHS, the former Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (2012-2017). Cardinal Müller recently released a Manifesto of Faith to make a public testimony of the truth in the face of growing confusion about the doctrine of the Faith. In his Manifesto, the Cardinal provides most necessary clarity on a number of areas that are central to the Catholic faith and life, such as the incompatibility of other religions with the Catholic faith, the impermissibility of the reception of Holy Communion and other sacraments by divorced and civilly remarried Catholics as well as by Protestants, without conversion and amendment of life; the eternity of hell; and the importance of priestly celibacy. Furthermore, Cardinal Müller also restates the inseparable link between the Faith and the moral law, which may not be relativised, referencing several key teachings of the Catechism. Cardinal Müller’s Manifesto of Faith, issued in seven languages worldwide, is a visible witness to the unvarnished Catholic faith. We 38
CALX MARIAE: It seems painfully clear that there is a network across the Church which has promoted or protected homosexual priests and bishops even when they’ve been guilty of abuse. It seems that this network is now so powerful that it can isolate senior clerics who try to oppose it. What can faithful priests and bishops do to resist this network and free the Church from this affliction? CARDINAL MÜLLER: I do not know exactly whether there is something to these claims about a network of homosexual cliques. But the protagonists who “out” themselves in the public are obviously connected and collaborate in public. They try to discredit all those who profess the Christian anthropology of man and woman and defend the validity of the Sixth Commandment. It is bad when they nevertheless remain in their influential ecclesial positions and are not being hindered in their homophilic propaganda. CM: You have also been outspoken about the dangers of allowing a homosexual subculture to develop within the priesthood. Why are most bishops silent while the acceptance of a view of human sexuality that is irreconcilable with the teachings of Christ is rapidly spreading in the world and in the Church?
CARDINAL MÜLLER: Why bishops do not live up to their mandate is unknown to me. They seem not to be able anymore to withstand the pressures to conform and think themselves able to rescue something by accommodation. But what this something might be, they do not say. They do not understand that the price for the treason against truth will be high for the Church. “But if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?” (Mt. 5:13) CM: Many young men have had their vocations corrupted or destroyed by the abuse they’ve experienced and witnessed within seminaries. What advice would you give to a young man who wants to respond to God’s call but reads with horror reports about events in seminaries in Ireland, the US, Honduras and in other parts of the world? CARDINAL MÜLLER: They should step forward, with a free conscience before God, and request the renewal of their vocation. They can organise themselves and clearly tell the rector [of the seminary] and the bishop that homosexual acts are sinful and that they refuse to tolerate any harassment, and that they will immediately notify Rome, or even go to the public. CM: Some commentators have blamed priestly celibacy for clerical abuse scandal and called for it to be re-examined in the light of the falling number of vocations. What would be the correct response to this?
CAL X M A R IA E
