(CNS photo/Paul Haring)
“And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Mt. 16:18)
“But when Cephas was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.” (Galatians 2:11)
As OnePeterFive has been reporting over the past week, several bishops and theologians have come to the defense of the Four Cardinals who have written to Pope Francis, asking him to clarify several important ambiguities and potentially heretical statements in his post-synodal exhortation, Amoris Laetitia. We have now learned, however, that Cardinal Gerhard Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, will not speak in their defense.
Meanwhile, critics of their letter to the pope expressing “dubia” about certain propositions contained in AL — critics like the newly-minted Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago — have gone so far as to accuse the four cardinals (and implicitly, their supporters) for “doubting the fruit of two synods, and the fruit of propositions that were voted on by two-thirds of the bishops who were there.”
On the contrary, Edward Pentin, the well-informed Rome Correspondent for the National Catholic Register, has reminded us that the so-called “Kasper proposal” never found the support of the required majority at either of the two synods. In the second synod – after the first one expressly rejected this idea of giving Holy Communion to the “remarried” divorcees – there was an attempt made to keep the equivocal formulations ambiguous enough so that all options would be left open in the aftermath. As Pentin reports, the Synod Fathers did not recognize this subtle method at the time:
Many other efforts were then made to steer the second synod, for example by purposely leaving out the words “mortal sin”, making the text intentionally ambiguous, and deliberately omitting the key passage (no. 84) in its integrity of John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation on the family, Familiaris Consortio, in particular the part which clearly rules out Holy Communion for remarried divorcees unless the couple are living as brother and sister. “We all voted according to the proposals we received,” one synod father told the Register on condition of anonymity earlier this year. “I understood that if the ‘yes’ would be interpreted in accord with Familiaris Consortio, one goes in the right direction. But you see that in those proposals they prepared, they mentioned Familiaris Consortio, but at the same time left it open to other interpretations… They neglected to mention some things.”
Making use of a language that is sufficiently unclear so that it could be exploited later on is nothing new in the Church. This same approach has been lamented at least since the Second Vatican Council. In this case, as the second synod concluded, the stage was set for a later interpretation by Pope Francis himself – as Archbishop Bruno Forte revealed.
We know that Cardinal Müller opposed the Kasper proposal before the synods, as well as afterwards.There is, however, evidence that he may have been lured into accepting a sort of compromise as the second portion of the Synod of the Family drew to a close in 2015. On 17 October 2015, the German magazine FOCUS published an interview with Müller in which he said the following, (according to my own translation):
Curial Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, head of the Congregation for the Faith in the Vatican, does not exclude Communion for remarried divorcees – at least not “in extreme individual cases.” However, there cannot thus be granted a general admittance to Communion for such members of the faithful, according to Müller; “but, in certain cases, there could be such an admittance in the field of conscience.” That is what Familiaris Consortio, number 84, had also already proposed – in the Apostolic Exhortation of John Paul II promulgated in 1981 [according to Müller]. “One can think further in this direction,” said the German cardinal to FOCUS. As a criterion, one has to proceed according to “theologically responsible considerations.”
Whether Cardinal Müller had in mind that “remarried” divorcees had to live in perpetual continence is not clear in this 17 October 2015 interview – he did not mention the matter explicitly. At the time, I recall discussing this interview with my editors, and with grave worries. Did his statements indicate a change of position on this critical issue?
The third and last report of the German-speaking group of the October 2015 Family Synod seemed to imply a shift in the thought of the CDF prefect. It was within this group that Cardinals Kasper and Müller – the two most notably opposed cardinals in this important discussion about possible access to Holy Communion for “remarried” divorcees – were reported to have come to an agreement about a proposal to allow a certain discernment of such cases to be left to the “forum internum” (internal forum; i.e., through discussion with a confessor or spiritual director). This proposal, though vague and at least somewhat theoretical, opened the door enough to enable Pope Francis to push it open even further in his Amoris Laetitia.
At the time, Cardinal Marx – one participant of the German-speaking group – saw that there was, indeed, a little opening now for the “remarried” divorcees. As I then reported:
Cardinal Marx himself, as one of the main promoters of the Kasper proposal, also showed himself very pleased with the outcome of the Synod. At a press conference on the same day as the approval of the final report, he said: “I am very happy that we made a step ahead.” And he called it – together with Cardinal Christoph Schönborn – an “historical step” which will “allow Pope Francis to move ahead on his path.”
Furthermore, Professor Thomas Stark, an Austrian professor, commented after the second Family Synod – especially concerning the German-speaking group’s own report – as follows:
Stark added that it was another example of the “old, cheap tricks” that are being pursued by the German bishops and their allies, to advance their agenda on reception of Communion indirectly by devolving the authority over the matter from the Pope to individual bishops or to bishops’ conferences. “It is nothing new, just the old Kasper proposal in other clothes, in my opinion.”
However, a few months after the end of the second synod, Cardinal Müller seemed to be trying to close that little crack in the door, after all. He said in a 28 February 2016 interview the following, as I then reported it:
When the newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger with regard to the question of the admittance of “remarried” divorcees to Holy Communion pointed out that the German-speaking group at the 2015 synod — with his approval — had considered the admittance of the “remarried” divorcees to Holy Communion, Mueller said:
“When the spouses — as Pope John Paul II in his apostolic exhortation Familiaris Consortio (1981) reminded us of the always valid Catholic teaching on marriage — ‘live together as brother and sister’. . . . But the Church has no possibility to dissolve or suspend a validly contracted and true sacramental marriage.” [my emphasis]
As I have shown elsewhere, there also arose at the time the question as to why the “slip” of Cardinal Müller during the second synod happened at all – without which Pope Francis could not at all refer in any way to the synods themselves for his own liberalizing agenda. There is, as we know, a close connection between Müller and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI — the latter having repeatedly shown his public support for Pope Francis, and having declined to respond to the official letter of the Four Cardinals (as I have been told by a reliable source in Rome). Pope Francis has even praised Benedict for his promise to practice “unconditional obedience” toward his papal successor – which, in itself, is an un-Catholic thing to do (just as applying, for example, the doctrine of the “lesser evil”).
Not long after the second Family Synod in 2015, reports came to us (and they are still being held to be true by some serious Vatican experts) that Benedict did actually give – at the time of the 2015 Synod – his subtly implicit approval for a compromise. As I then reported:
On Monday, 26 October, Marco Ansaldo reported in the Italian newspaper La Rebbublica that there is a possibility that it was the former student of Joseph Ratzinger, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn – a proponent of the liberalizing faction at the Synod and the head of the German-speaking group – who, in a recent meeting with the former pope during the last week of the Synod at the monastery Mater Ecclesiae, may have convinced Pope Benedict to influence Cardinal Müller in favor of a “minimal solution” (in Magister’s words).
This claim of Marco Ansaldo has never been publicly denied — not then, and not today.
Whether this story is true or not, Cardinal Müller right now plays a pivotal role with regard to the defense of Catholic Truth in Rome, just as he largely did during the two Family Synods. Will he now refuse to help correct the “slip” that may have taken place during the second synod? And will he continue to claim that his position as CDF Prefect precludes him from coming to the support (and effective rescue) of the four courageous cardinals – some of whom, for example Cardinal Carlo Caffarra, have the honored reputation of a certain sanctity – who are now even being threatened with the removal of their honorific red hats? (It is worth recalling here that this putative sanction is exactly what Pope Francis was reported, during a fit of anger, to have used to threaten the 13 cardinals who wrote him a letter of concern during the second synod, namely: “I will remove their [red] hats!”)
Cardinal Müller has now said that, in his position, he speaks and acts “with the authority of the pope” and that he cannot thus “participate in the controversial dispute” brought up by the dubia. Will he continue to stand on the sidelines as pressure mounts against these four cardinals and three bishops? Will he not defend Divine Truth above the ambiguous declarations or imprudences of the current occupant of the Petrine Office (especially since the pope has not yet spoken – and most probably will not ever thus speak – on these explicit moral matters ex cathedra)? Will Müller not now serve God more than man? Will he decide, despite his protestations, to rush to those who suffer for their own defense of the truth – with whom he even authored books on this matter – or will he now leave them alone in the ditch? Will he try to avoid a schism that is implicitly already there, caused by – or at least facilitated by – no one other than the pope himself? Will he not courageously help those confused Catholics to stand firm in the Faith by resisting falsehood, deliberate deception, and potential heresy?
In this case, it seems not sufficient to politely and indirectly disagree (as Müller has just done it again in May of 2016, and with reference to Amoris Laetitia) or to simply defer. Now that the pope encourages practical implementations of his errors and ignores those cardinals who politely oppose him, an even more explicitly resistant counteraction is needed.
Does Cardinal Müller not yet realize that he will render his own office as the Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith feckless if he does not now use its authority and carry out the duties of his charter coram Deo? Does he, as a German, still remember the famous Martin Niemöller quote? Will he wait until he has been removed from that very office, leaving it up to someone else such as Cardinal Christoph Schönborn to adapt that office further to the new regime of putative mercy?
May he act before it is too late, and do the right thing for the right reasons. And we shall ardently pray for that.
Steve Skojec contributed to this story.
I am bereft. I thought surely Cardinal Muller’s input would be the silver bullet, the shot heard ’round the world, in defense of the Four Cardinals, in defense of Our Lord.
Please Cardinal Muller, support the Four Cardinals in their quest for simple answers to the Dubia.
See Fr. RP’s excellent analysis above. If Mueller disobeys orders from Beroglio and replies as head of the CDF to the Dubia he gets sacked, his response is null and void, and his job goes to a devil like Schonborn.
Thank you, hows_the_boy. I am now gaining better insight into the situation. I now realise that Cardinal Muller has buttressed Tradition and is playing it very cool.
Well, his role in the CDF is ignored anyway. He is not consulted on documents. PF’s documents are written by clerics in Argentina or wherever he wants. Mueller is now just a figurehead.
I wish I could remember where I saw this, but it’s said that he can’t speak about the dubia because it’s up to the pope to do so. I’m not overly concerned about this as I believe there is a strategy in play here.
Sane reply in a sea of hubris.
I never really thought of Muller as rock solid. And here he is playing the part of Pilate. Yet, he is much closer to the truth than a large swath of the cardinals, as perhaps Pilate was compared to the Sanhedrin. It’s men like him who we really need to pray for – who are so border line that just a couple extra prayers might sway them toward the truth. We know on which side Pilate ultimately fell, perhaps with enough prayers Muller can land on the other side. His heart and mind seem at least somewhat open. Unlike the pope’s henchman whose hearts are as stone.
Absolutely rubbish. Unfortunately the rad trads cannot think straight once their anger and hubris gets the better of them.
Muller is very far from being Pilate.
Here is the dilemma he faces: As head of the CDF he is directly working for the Pope. The Pope can tell him, because he has the authority to do so, under obedience that the CDF is not allowed to act on a certain case or every case, the CDF exists to assist the Petrine Ministry and through that the Church: not the other way around.
So, one should assume that the Pope told him months ago that he is not allowed in his capacity as the Head of the CDF to respond to the dubia or anything definitive about Amoris Laetitia that the Pope himself does not explicitly give him the permission to rule on or speak on as Head of the CDF.
This is why Cardinal Müller has been speaking not in his official capacity but simply as a Cardinal, and Private theologian about the Tradition of the Church and the Law of the Church. No doubt, with every instance of this he increases the Popes displeasure with him in every way, yet all the while never directly disobeying the Pope.
If Cardinal Müller puts out a statement as the head of the CDF without the Pope’s permission to do so (or against his explicit command not to do so) he will assuredly be sacked and that statement will be null and void as it will not carry the weight of the Petrine Ministry: so it will not help the situation.
Finally, I think if push comes to shove Cardinal Müller will resign from the CDF (or be removed for speaking as a Private Theologian) and side with the Four Cardinal’s (including Pell now, and two others unknown to us but not to Müller: for all we know he was one of the private signatories, though that is unlikely) He clearly sees the danger that the Church is in and how precarious the situation truly is and like a good son of the Church he is praying and hoping and acting as he deems best to do at the current time.
May the Lord come to his assistance with the grace of Truth, Counsel, Wisdom, Fortitude and Fear of the Lord.
Best reply to this article as of this time. The other comment I graded “best reply” now comes second 🙂
And the LORD very much values obedience and the only case he can disobey is when asked to do something that betrays his LORD. Card. Sarah has shown the way as to simultaneouly obey and be faithful [cf. changes RE: Holy Thursday foot washing], and that is point exactly to where the directives are coming from [he also obtained something in writing from the pope].
St. John Fisher:
. In 1504, he became Bishop of Rochester and Chancellor of Cambridge, in which capacity he also tutored Prince Henry who was to become Henry VIII. St. John was dedicated to the welfare of his diocese and his university. From 1527, this humble servant of God actively opposed the King’s divorce proceedings against Catherine, his wife in the sight of God, and steadfastly resisted the encroachment of Henry on the Church. Unlike the other Bishops of the realm, St. John refused to take the oath of succession which acknowledged the issue of Henry and Anne as the legitimate heir to the throne, and he was imprisoned in the tower in April 1534. The next year he was made a Cardinal by Paul III and Henry retaliated by having him beheaded within a month. A half hour before his execution, this dedicated scholar and churchman opened his New Testament for the last time and his eyes fell on the following words from St. John’s Gospel: “Eternal life is this: to know You, the only true God, and Him Whom You have sent, Jesus Christ. I have given You glory on earth by finishing the work You gave me to do. Do You now, Father, give me glory at Your side”. Closing the book, he observed: “There is enough learning in that to last me the rest of my life.” His feast day is June 22.
Yes, the story of St. John Fisher is exemplary on how a Cardinal (or any Catholic for that matter, but especially a Cardinal) is to conduct himself when faced with choosing for Christ or the world.
At least St. John Fisher had Pope Paul III standing behind him. Cardinal Müller is facing something that St. John Fisher didn’t have to face.
Pray for Cardinal Müller.
Cdl. Müller has the benefit, however, of only facing the loss of his job, not his head.
I understand that.
I do not think Cardinal Müller is concerned about personal loss as in his position and honor amongst men. It’s more of how long can he hold the seat without someone like Cardinal Schönborn taking it (or the new guy, Cardinal Beniamino Stella.) When I mentioned him being sacked above, that is what I meant.
If he puts something out from the CDF as the Head of the CDF against the Pope’s will then that document goes nowhere.
Better to speak as long as he can as a Private Theologian and Cardinal of the Church, while still holding one of the most important positions in the Vatican, in favor of the Church’s law and her constant teaching regarding Marriage etc…in my opinion.
Like I said, Pray for Cardinal Müller, especially that he knows that it isn’t his head or his hat in danger (just like with St. John Fisher) but his soul. And I am sure he knows this too, but sometimes we need God himself reminding us of these things.
I believe strongly that this would be a tactical error. Like the prosecuting attorney who asks a leading question and has it withdrawn by objection, the question remains planted in the jury’s mind. For the prefect to oppose the Pope, whatever technical nullification that might entail, it would be one of the most powerful statements that could be made against the heresies now emanating from Rome.
The fact remains it doesn’t matter whether he keeps his job or whether it’s given to someone else. He is habitually disrespected by the Pope who will even defer to Cardinal Kasper in Muller’s presence. He is not given the final copies of documents to review. And my sources tell me that everything that goes on at the CDF is monitored and members of that congregation have actually begun losing their jobs for speaking a word of criticism.
The time to sit and wait is over. Consequentialism will get us nowhere. At this moment in time, nobody can hit back harder than Muller can.
Instead he chooses to continue acting like a man under house arrest deluding himself into thinking that he can do more good from the inside.
We have played politics far too long…in both politics and religion.
We must do what is RIGHT and stop trying to game the system and make decisions based on what we think the enemy is going to do.
We have GOT to get back to doing RIGHT just because it is RIGHT.
Amen to that. It’s a losing game. And really, we’d have a lot fewer martyrs if all of them calculated they’d do more good by not being removed from their positions of influence. It’s their blood — and not their cunning — that is the seed of the Church.
Amen to the above. We forget that the mass of Catholics who feel troubled (to say nothing of us traditional Catholics who feel horror) are looking for the spark that will ignite the fire – which will be lit by a LEADER. Who is going to step up?
If this time passes with no one doing anything Francis will simply move on. We humans like flashy, shiny toys – once the excitement wanes it’s business as usual. Look at the newscasts – fires, murders, looting, riots – but within a few days they fade – and we await eagerly the next fire, murder etc. The time is ripe NOW.
1000 up votes!
I think it would be better for Mueller to remain silent for the time being. PF is just waiting to replace him and will do so promptly. How will this help? Francis is about to turn 80 . . . I would rather have Muller outlast him than to have Schoenborn or Forte replace him.
Yeah, but what if Francis lives another ten to fifteen years?
Well, then were s-o-l! Seriously, I am hoping this is not the case. But, I have been reading up on John XXII and he definitely had more longevity than expected. Heaven help us.
And you are going to make a decision on a what if?
See my answer to Fr. RP above.
I know that you realize that I know what’s at stake and that I am all for standing with Jesus.
St. Thomas More went to the headsman too.
Let us pray for Cardinal Mueller to be strengthened for the task.
Agree. If Mueller is going to be replaced anyway, better it be his resignation and timing which would signify dissatisfaction with the direction of the Papacy. The upheaval taking place e.g. firing of the whole Congregation for Family and Life just happened without very much outrage in the Catholic media and this calamitous change can be understood by worldly people as just PF wanting his own men working with him (just as Trump chooses his own men). It is likely however that more changes to Congregations and Bishops and Professors in Universities will continue. So whilst there appears to be silence, every single Bishop who understands what PF is doing, knows potentially he is next in line for removal maybe for just speaking his mind. There is in fact little time to act. Surely even the leftist Bishops would realise that they cannot support this ongoing demolition.
You are right on this. His days as head of the CDF are numbered, and the Pope does not treat him as head of the CDF anyway, constantly reminding him that his voice is insignificant.
By making a public statement as head of the CDF, even if it was his very last act in that role (which really it would have to be), he would be doing the only thing he can still do to help. Better to go out that way than to be suddenly replaced with Schonborn or Kasper and lose his chance to put the symbolic weight of the CDF behind his statement.
Fr. RP is quite correct to say that his statement won’t have official authority (i.e., it wouldn’t really be a true CDF statement), because it obviously wouldn’t have the Pope’s signature/permission. But he is still, right now, the head of the CDF. His words would carry weight for that reason (your comparison to the withdrawn question still affecting the jury is very apt).
If he is let go, and only then speaks, all the focus will be on the fact that he was recently replaced, and both the secular and Catholic media (to the extent that they even cover it) will present him as a disgruntled former employee trying to lash out at the guy who fired him.
Agreed, Jordan. This is his one chance. If he blows it, nobody will listen to him anymore.
If he stands, his successor will never be spoken of without a reference of who he replaced, and why.
Keep the sane and sensible replies coming Father.
Thank you so very much for this insight Father. The thought occurs to me that Cardinal Muller is thinking of the many souls that may be lost if someone like Schonborn or Stella is put in the CDF if he (Muller) is sacked. He does not have to worry about orthodox Catholics, those who will NOT follow heresy.
I was just this weekend speaking to a Catholic – someone who goes to Mass regularly (more than just Sundays), confesses regularly, and goes to Adoration. She still relies on the interpretation of the pope and has not heard about the dubia. When I told her about it, she looked at me sceptically when I said the 4 Cardinals are in the right – and the Pope is wrong. In fact, the only reason that she did not “chastise” me was that over the years, she knows that I am a person who truly loves Our Lord, and the Catholic Faith. But I could see the disbelief in her eyes, and in her tone of voice, to what I was telling her.
There are many, many Catholics like this, who rely on the pope to ‘safeguard’ the teachings of the Church. I know quite a few. In fact, some of them, last year, stopped talking to me because of my stance on the Synods of the Family. Now, some of them are bewildered by what’s going on in the Church. …I am sure that Cardinals such as Muller have these Catholics in mind as well.
Which, by the way, is why I am so furious with Pope Francis, and truly concerned with the salvation of his soul. I pray for him every night, but at the same time, I want to kick his b_tt. What he is doing, essentially, is saying to Our Lord, “I will not serve” …because he is there to safeguard the truth, and (an understatement) that is not what he is doing.
It is foolish to assume that he took the action he did for fear of loss of his job.
I can’t believe that you of all people would think that.
Fisher was not head butting a Pope, Muller would be if he did so. And we would be in a far worse situation if he got replace.
Agree with you (many upvotes), see my reply to Fr. RP above.
Let us strive to be as courageous as the apostle Thomas when he suggested to the disciples of Jesus:
“Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples: Let us also go, that we may die with him.” John 11:16
Peter, as the Gospels tell us, tried to frustrate the Will of Our Heavenly Father on several occasions before Pentecost, each time rejecting the necessity of the Cross for salvation and each time drawing stern rebukes from Our Lord:
“And Peter taking him, began to rebuke him, saying: Lord, be it far from thee, this shall not be unto thee. Who turning, said to Peter: Go behind me, Satan, thou art a scandal unto me: because thou savourest not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men.” Matthew 16:23″
“Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it, and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. And the name of the servant was Malchus. Jesus therefore said to Peter: Put up thy sword into the scabbard. The chalice which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” John 18:10-11
And that is exactly what I have said before: Francis seems to be Peter prior to Pentecost. We need to pray that He will allow the Holy Spirit to overcome him.
Pray for him of course but Peter only denied Christ three times. We’re in the Guinness Book of World Records here with Francis. I wonder precisely what spirit has already overcome Francis.
I wonder too.
What many might not know is the terrible conditions and near starvation this good Bishop withstood (along with St. Thomas More) when he was in the Tower. When he was stripped to his under garments prior to his beheading the crowd gasped to see him so emaciated and weak. These martyrs had a long, painful time of physical cruelty and psychological torture to endure before the merciful end.
To imagine that any Bishop or Cardinal would be put to this torture these days lays bare the real cowardice many of them show – all they have to fear is a little ridicule from their faithless cohort and they will still not stand for Christ. Shame.
DO THESE MEN FEAR GOD OR FEAR MEN?
You said it. It is THAT simple.
Well, we will find out, won’t we?
Yes we will, which is why I said to pray for him to be strengthened for what must be done.
Muller is weak. If he weren’t weak, he would have resisted Peter to his face, like Paul.
The question is: Is Muller SO weak that he will allow [the wolf] Francis unfettered access to the sheep? And will he refuse, as Dr. Hickson chides here, even to allow the [four] good shepherds in to defend the sheep?
Time will tell.
My guess: Muller’s an abject coward and he will fail in his duty as Prefect and simply follow the path of least resistance. That means the wolf [Francis] is given free reign to ravage the sheep.
It is mysterious why God would allow such scandal and confusion. But, then again, God the Father allowed common soldiers to beat and crucify His Son as His Blessed Mother and the saints looked on. Sure it’s hard to imagine why God would allow such confusion to be sown in the Church. But our task is not so much to understand as to accept. Think of Our Lady’s internal reactions while they hammered the nails through Christ’s hands and feet. Think of John’s reactions as Christ hung on the Cross for three hours waiting to die.
Can anybody make human sense out of any of that? Nope. Well, our reaction should be the same as Mary’s and John’s: prayerful meditation and petition of God and acceptance of His inscrutable Will.
“Muller is weak. If he weren’t weak, he would have resisted Peter to his face, like Paul.”
Easy for us to say sitting here at our computer desks or on our phones or wherever, in our living rooms. We don’t have anything on the line. Imagine what happens when he speaks and Francis sacks him from CDF and puts someone in like Cardinal Schonborn, or Bruno Forte or some other horrible figure?
Pray for Cardinal Muller, that he have wisdom, courage, and strength to do what needs to be done.
Wrong.
So wrong.
EVERY ONE of us has faced situations just as difficult. Yes, we have.
I am a man working in a secular environment. I am rightly expected to stand for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the face of constant temptations and threats in the business world. My temptations are no less difficult than what these prelates face and I’m sick and tired of hearing how “courageous” they are when they make half-baked attempts to sort-of live up their their vocational calling.
I’m not picking a fight with you, I’m just expressing how low we have all fallen in our expectations of those who lead us. I’ve done it, too, in the past, but no longer.
Just WHY exactly is it that CATHOLIC PRELATES are not expected to live up to the same standard Catholic laymen are expected to uphold?
We have given so many of these prelates the “benefit of the doubt” over the years and looked the other way when they have utterly failed us. Which has been constant. So much so we have utterly no reason now to expect them NOT to act like faggots so before they even act we start making excuses for them!!
And if perchance they do act like men of God it is completely shocking and cause for celebration!
No, Jafin, YOU as a Catholic have every right, no, not right, rather…responsibility…to hold these men to the standard of THEIR calling.
Müller can either stand up and be heard for our Lord Christ or he can turn tail and run. And if he does the latter he needs to be deluged with diatribe, condemnation and shame, as much of it as we can muster.
Müller in effect has maybe the EASIEST job on planet earth. All that guy has to do is regurgitate what the CHURCH HAS ALWAYS TAUGHT. So no he has to face a little stress in doing it. Boo hoo. Too bad. Oh, my heart breaks for him.
Grow up, Müller and do your friggin job!
Or, so-to-speak, go ahead and be just one more gutless, shameless, morally debased, faggoty Catholic prelate that looks the other way when they hear screams from the sacristy.
Yes to this in spades.
“No, Jafin, YOU as a Catholic have every right, no, not right, rather…responsibility…to hold these men to the standard of THEIR calling.”
You’re right. I do have that right and responsibility. And I will be exercising this when I write directly to this (and other) Cardinals as I have plans to. However, I do NOT have the right and responsibility to tell them HOW to live up to their calling. That’s not my place.
Remember just a month or two ago when everyone was saying that the Bishops have completely let us down and no bishops would stand up to the pope, and the great disappointment everyone felt for Cardinal Burke in particular? And then we find out about the dubia and everyone is all like “Cardinal Burke, he’s so great! I’ve always loved him!!!” Yeah, that. We DON’T KNOW everything that’s going on, we don’t know what is in motion. All we know is that Cardinal Mueller has declined to answer the dubia in his capacity as head of the CDF. That’s it. We know NOTHING else. He could still, as a bishop and cardinal, ask Pope Francis to answer the dubia. He could be holding back so that, in the event of formal correction or even a general council (Lord, please let this happen) he can have the appearance of being more non-partisan and thus be seen as a good judge. We DON’T KNOW so don’t call the man a “faggot” until you do.
“Müller in effect has maybe the EASIEST job on planet earth. All that guy has to do is regurgitate what the CHURCH HAS ALWAYS TAUGHT.”
If you’ll note, that’s exactly what he’s doing. Look at the things he’s actually said. He said he can’t answer the dubia. He then reiterated EXACTLY what the Church has always taught and that, in order to properly interpret AL, you have to do so in accordance with what the Church has always taught. He’s right in that. The problem is the ambiguity so it can be interpreted multiple ways (but we already know all this.) Would I LIKE to hear him say “AL is a heretical document. Pope Francis, come out and tell us your agenda and step down, in shame, from your throne!” Yes, I would LOVE to hear that. But there is way more going on than the news says, so, unless you have some inside source no one else knows about, don’t condemn a man, as you have, so quickly. Be patient. The Church moves slowly. It always has.
Based on what you say here, we really have no disagreement. Of course we can’t do anything. The prelates can. As for time, I also agree. I’m certain this fight will last a LONG time, not just because the “good guys” will drag their feet but because the enemies of the truth will have something to say about it, too. There really isn’t any way we can predict what THEY will do and they obviously are not going to quit any time soon. Frankly, I suspect these questions will not be finalized until the next pontificate or maybe even a subsequent one down the road. In the meantime, tho, prelates need to be very clear in their teaching, just as Burke has called for recently. Because the chaos in the Church is vast and deep.
Regardless, for myself, I just can’t feel sorry for the prelates today. The “good guys” have a job to do and they need to do it. Certainly SOME are though exactly how I don’t know. I do not think “nothing” is happening behind the scenes.
But certainly it is time we stop apologizing for weak and pathetic leaders. The mission of the Church is to spread the Gospel and live the Gospel. At this point, overall, the leadership of the Church does not model that calling.
I completely agree that we need to stop apologizing for them. I don’t think I’ve done it that much, but maybe. The point here is that, since we don’t really know what’s going on, we need to be careful about our opinions. Muller in particular is in a rather funny spot. He has a history of being very orthodox (with a couple odd seeming slip-ups near the last synod) and so, at this point, I want to give him some room to breathe before making up an opinion. His hands are tied in his official capacity for the very reasons he has decided not to answer the dubia. For him and others like him I think we really need to pray for them. For wisdom, prudence, strength, and courage as I said earlier. These are perilous times and it is very easy, I think, to just sit back, watch things happen, and hope everything will be fine. We need to pray for them and, according to our ability, encourage these prelates to do what they need to do. To let them know the faithful are behind them, and the saints in heaven are behind them, that Our Lady is with them. It can likely feel very isolating for many of these men.
Nonetheless, they have a job to do, and they need to do it, as you’ve said. And so do we. It’s less visible but probably more important. We need to keep our families holy. That’s hard in this world.
Good post.
I would say encouragement must include flatout confrontation {and condemnation if need be} when they shirk their duties.
The recent Twitter feed w/ Cardinal Napier is a GREAT example of this in action. Here Napier pops up trying to spin Pope Francis’ blittering rubbish in AL and Napier gets his lunch handed to him by a bunch of no-name, nobodies {I was one of them} in the Catholic world who happen to obviously take these things seriously.
PATHETIC, isn’t it? These men must be made to know that we are watching, we are praying and we are not going to sit back and nod when they run roughshod over the teachings of the Church.
Cardinal Napier surprised me. I expected him to be on the side of truth. It’s hard to believe.
It’ll be interesting to see who ends up on what side of this schism. Lord help us.
Dear RTHEVR, Your frustration is shared and totally understood, I see this as a wheat and chaff moment before the church is restored to her Glory. I find it interesting how aggressive and deceptive some of those within the church have been towards the four Cardinals but thankfully the wheat is being sorted from the chaff and it’s now easier to see than ever before. May God protect those who only serve him.
I agree 100%.
And they are going to get far more aggressive, first as they look around and find friends and supporters and second when, eventually, they see their power begin to slip.
This is the study of war, and it is thus easy to predict SOME of how this fight will play out. Right now the heretics are feeling their oats.
Many mistakes will be made. Some will be made by well-intentioned laymen, some by the leaders of the cause of righteousness. The Enemy will propagandize any and every mistake in the effort to pigeon-hole, stereotype and denigrate those who resist incorporating heresy into the teaching of the Church.
We must plug on. We must NOT be afraid to stand up; to confront priest and bishop and if we make a mistake, we must face it, deal with it and move on, never wavering.
In the end, our prelates are only men. Just flesh and blood. They have for the most part lived incredibly easy lives of comfort and ease. “Soft as a priests hands” didn’t enter the lexicon for nothing. It has not always been so and it is not always so with ALL. But it is so with a massive number of prelates who are “given the place of honor at the table” and treated as respectable even when they are not.
And the Catholic Church reflects the “are not” to a large degree today.
WE must encourage the good and condemn the bad. YES, encourage the good!! AND condemn the bad…
I do believe that the worst thing to come out of Vatican 2 wasn’t Nostra Aetate as bad as that was! It was the CHANGE in approach “made law” by Pope john XXIII in the opening address where he tells the world the church will no longer condemn, but only affirm the good. This ROT, this putrid evil has festered like the stinking abscess in the culture of Catholicism ever since. It is the paradigm and excuse the heretics have used to explain, justify and allow all manner of evils and contradictions in the Church. It permeates the Church; rules that are broken, teachings that are ignored, truth that is ignored, discipline that is not meted out.
We have GOT to get back to the Way of Christ and the Church that existed up until that address. We have got to affirm the good and condemn the bad.
THAT is the clarity that is REQUIRED by the words of CCC 1697:
“Catechesis has to reveal in all clarity the joy and the demands of the way of Christ.”
When was that last time you heard the word “anathema” uttered by a Pope or prelate or synod?
Yeah, I can’t remember, either…
Dear RTHEVER,
Thank you for your reply. Agreed, I’m sure that you know a great deal more than I about what has happened in the Holy Church over the past 60 years. The huge shift that is now playing out is that many in the priesthood and within the congregation are coming out of the shadows and publicly stating what they really believe sometimes with arrogance and anger, so now it’s becoming more and more apparent which side they are on.
Wheat, Chaff or Goats and Sheep. I know that 1Peter5 has covered Anne Catherine Emmerich and the two Popes in the past, she also wrote about the two Churches and maybe this is where we are.
Anathema’s essentially don’t happen anymore. The specific ceremony that was used to pronounce a person anathema was done away with (yeah there was one.)
And I agree with you 100%. We need to proclaim the good, absolutely, but we need to condemn the bad. I think that’s needed even more in some cases these days.
THANK YOU! My thoughts exactly
Yeah, what’s the worst Mueller could get? Exile to some defunct island diocese? He still gets his “three hots and a cot” even in retirement.
Exactly. A priest, bishop or cardinal is supported by the Church until death unless he is laicized. No wife, no children to support, either, unlike many of the laity…such as Joseph Shaw, Anthony Esolen…
Forgive my ignorance but what is “three hots and a cot”? I never heard that expression.
The U.S. military uses this expression of speech. Basically, it means that the Church gives bishops and cardinals not only pensions for life at retirement, but the means to either live in a rectory or on their own without worrying about where they will get health care, food, etc.
Thank you! This is why I like posting on TC websites like the Remnant, 1P5 etc. – I’m always learning something new. ?
I also heard this phrase in the context of being in jail; at least one gets three hot meals and a bed.
Dear Jafin, You are right. When we are looking at someone else’s problems the solution is always so simple. However when we are confronting a problem in our own lives it’s hard.
Speak for yourself. Three years ago I was fired from my full-time employment for speaking the truth about a certain subject in my professional capacity as an educator. I had been warned by the administration that if I continued so to speak I would be fired.
At the risk of my full-time employment, I continued to speak the truth on this subject because I believed strongly that it was in the best interest of my students. And I was summarily fired for doing so. I was out of work for almost three years. Just found work again one month ago.
So, STFU. Not everybody is a gutless coward like you. Some of us believe in doing the right thing regardless of the cost to ourselves. So keep your pansy ass comments to yourself about “easy for us behind our computer keyboards”. That probably is you. It is certainly not me. Fact.
That’s a little harsh, don’t you think? I appreciate what happened to you, and I would like to thank you for proclaiming the truth in the face of opposition, and to great personal loss. We need more like you.
Before going further, I’d suggest reading the other posts in response to this and come back.
(waits for further reading)
You’re right, not all of us are just sitting cushy. You have suffered job loss for the faith. I have some heavy crosses to bear myself. Cardinal Muller, as I’ve stated hasn’t backed down from the truth. He’s refusing to answer the Dubia in his capacity as Prefect of the CDF. There is likely a lot of strategic maneuvering going on, but the Cardinal, whatever his personal convictions may be, has decided not to show his hand just yet. Not everything is out in the public yet, so let’s withhold our indignation. We screwed up predicting what Cardinal Burke was doing, so let’s just let the truth come out before lambasting people.
On a related matter, you lost your job for the truth… but are you Cardinal Muller? Do you know everything? Are you in his shoes, feeling the same stresses and concerns? Do you know what I’VE been through? No, you don’t. I lost my entire support, social circle, some family, even my home for the truth. I’m doing well now, but 7 years ago I was living in my Uncle’s basement because I stood for the truth. Many of us have suffered. Don’t say we don’t know and DON’T call a man a coward when he has lost possibly more than you have. You lost a job. I lost most of my life for a time. I’ve gotten it back tenfold, but that took years. Be careful where you throw your diatribes. Now let’a stop bickering about who’s lost more and get back to reclaiming the Church.
Fair enough.
Hey Joe? I know you guys have worked this out, but maybe dial it down to eleven? It’s rule #1: https://onepeterfive.wpengine.com/comment-policy/
Yessir. I apologize.
Thank you!
Well did you not just merit the adjective attached to your name with that last paragraph.
I am with you. Those defending Meuller can do so until they are blue in the face. Yes it would be hard and yes we do not know what we would do if placed in a similar situation but I have seen countless young men and women give up much more for their country. Are you a true Shepard willing to give all for the sake of the flock? I’m sorry about the situation, but honestly, It’s time to man up!
If I ever visit Rome–highly unlikely–I would like to march around St. Peter’s Square with a sign:
NO.
YES.
YES.
YES.
YES.
Take me with you
Now that is a good suggestion.
Maybe the faithful we can have this promoted via facebook and people who are in Rome can do that.
Pray for Kardinal +Mueller. He has so much weight on his shoulders right now.
The parish offered the Morning Holy Hour and Rosary for those prelates who need strengthening to defend the Faith, we prayed for Cardinal Müller by name. Also offered the private intention of the Mass this morning for the same.
Thank you Father.
And the heretics have gained a foothold in the Church. We have to remember that the Holy Father is a Jesuit and who in their right mind would trust an Order that has done more harm to the Church than any other since Vatican II. There is a coming schism and from that schism, the new Protestant Catholic Church will rise just as Vatican II intended.
Folks:
It’s crunch time.
The doctrine is not the thing. Let’s face it, EVERYBODY knows what is Catholic Truth and what isn’t here. In fact, the Enemies of Jesus AREN’T EVEN BOTHERING TO OFFER UP ANY KIND OF THEOLOGICAL SUPPORT FOR THEIR ATTACKS AGAINST THE 4 CARDINALS…they are just calling names!!
These prelates like Müller are simply faced with doing what is right or doing what is wrong. Simple as that. They KNOW what is right. Now they just have to DO it.
We have our duties. The prelates have there’s.
Let’s pray they rise to this occasion.
Other than the few prelates who have now openly challenged Francis to his face, it seems that those prelates who remain either silent or complicit have spoken loudly without saying a word. By their fruits shall you know them. Who said that? Oh, now I forgot. (Sarcasm now off).
My suggestion (inspired by ArthurMcGowan above):
We can write to the Pope with the simple content of:
Dear Pope,
With regards the Dubia, the answer faithful to Christ and His Church is as follows:
NO, YES, YES, YES, YES.
Write in big bold letters.
We flood the Vatican with these letters.
Since when is “Truth” putting oneself between a rock and hard spot? One puts oneself there by denial of Truth and dereliction of duty to defend it..which is his DUTY….as head of the CDF. This mouse of a man reminds me of what St Augustine said about Truth…..
“Truth is like a Lion. It needs no defending. Turn it loose and it will defend itself.”
What does he not understand about that?