Saturday, March 14, 2015

Cardinal Müller: Pope Is Not Above the Word of God and the Catholic Faith

Edit: Rorate tends to understate things.  They want a sober response.  We'd like to offer this translation of Giuseppe Nardi's appreciation of their take on Cardinal Müller's recent letter appearing in the Osservatore Romano and additional commentary from other important Italian blogs.

(Rome) The extremely progressivist French newspaper Golias has sounded the alarm because of the "danger" that churchmen like the Cardinals Burke, Müller, Ranjith, Cañizares, Ouellet, Sarah and other "young cardinals" could prevent further "liberalization" of the constitution of the Church  with support of older cardinals like Scola, Pell and Caffarra.
The traditional  website Chiesa e Postconcilio contrast wrote: "God allows evil only so it is good bring about an even greater good. The immense disorder in the Bishops'  Synod on the Family led to wonderful declarations of faith by high-ranking prelates, the signs of hope for the future of the Church."
Cardinal Gerhard Müller is prefect of the Congregation and one of the five cardinals who wrote for the anthology "Remain in the Truth of Christ" along with the other bearers of the purple,  Brandmüller, De Paolis, Burke and Caffarra for the Synod of Bishops on the family in 2014.  Recently he had made ​his lecture public ​on the website of the CDF,  the referendum on the 13th of January by the Hungarian Esztergom on "The Theological Nature of the Doctrinal  Commissions and the Office of Bishops as Teachers of the Faith."

Put things into place

"In a very Ratzingerian way" says Rorate Caeli , "Cardinal Müller (referring to the Motu Proprio Apostolos Suos of John Paul II.), puts things in their place." He distinguishes between the supplementary authority of the Bishops and their organs, such as the Commissions on Faith, which are tasked to harmonize the various pastoral orientations, and the divine right of the successors of the apostles, that is of a different nature, and to the  extent makes them  teachers and guardians of the faith for their local churches, as they accept at the same time, the universal Church in union with the supreme pastor, the Pope.
The Cardinal recently wrote about this: "So the predicates of the Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church in the Roman Church  are realized a fortiori. Since ancient times it has called forth the Holy Roman Church - not because of the subjective holiness of her head and her members, but because of the holiness of its specific mission which is to pass down and preserves intact the apostolic tradition, the deposit of faith.".
The following passage in the speech by Cardinal Müller on the papal magisterium held some attention in Rome:

Cardinal Mülller: The Pope 'like all believers - is subject to the word of God and the Catholic faith "

"At the level of the universal Church the special mission of the Successor of Peter is especially mentioned to strengthen his brethren in the faith (cf.. Lc 22,32). This is not the place to deal with the doctrine of papal infallibility, but the characteristic and ultimate responsibility of the Roman Pontiff  emphasizes protecting healthy doctrine. In its "Considerations on the Primacy of the Successor of Peter in the Mystery of the Church "of 1998, the Congregation declared: 'The bishop of Rome is - like all believers - subject to the word of God and the Catholic faith. He is the guarantee for the obedience of the Church and in this sense servus servorum. He decides according to his own will, but it is voice  the will of the Lord who speaks to man in Scripture lived and interpreted by tradition. In other words, the episkope of primacy has limits, resulting from the law of God and contained in   revelation  in the untouchable divine institution of the Church. The Successor of Peter is the rock that against arbitrariness and conformism, he guarantees a relentless fidelity to the Word of God: It also follows the  martyrological characters of his primacy.'"

Cardinal Sarah: "Some want to sacrifice Christ's message for relativistic ideology of the West"


Cardinal Robert Sarah
Cardinal Robert Sarah, the new prefect of the Roman Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments made ​​it clear in his recently published book, "God or nothing" (Dieu ou rien) in France this week that he is on the "same wavelength" (on Rorate Caeli ). Cardinal Sarah explained in moving detail from his life and shows his solid theology and spiritual claims that he is a priest and pastors of the Church.The language of the African bishop and cardinal, who risked his life more than once, "reached a formal level, when he speaks of the relativistic ideology of the West, to which some want to sacrifice the message of Christ" and all there - as it is now fashionable - to adorn this  with winning quotes from Pope Francis, says Rorate Caeli.

Cardinal Müller: "Clean the Temple"

On February 8,Osservatore Romano published under the title "Purifying the Temple" a above-cited article by Cardinal Müller in Italian, in the German edition has appeared under the official title " Theological criteria for a reform of the Church and the Roman Curia", [Our translation, no idea where the English version is right now, will continue to check.] Müller points to the fact that the real reforms in Church history were always spiritual and not political reforms. The Curial reform must therefore, if it is to be of real importance for the renewal of the Church, be a spiritual reform in the first place. Its organizational structure and its operation must be subordinated to the special mission of the Successor of Peter.
In the words of Cardinal Müller: "The Curia is not a secular administrative structure, it is an essentially spiritual device that is rooted in the special mission of the Church of Rome, which is sanctified by the martyrdom of the Apostles Peter and Paul. (...) The structural organization and operation of the Curia has its measure in the specific mission of the Bishop of Rome. This [officeholder?] is defined as the Successor of Peter, the gift of Christ to his Church "the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity of the multiplicity of both bishops and of the faithful" (Lumen Gentium, 23). "

Cardinal Müller's criticism of permanent synod as part of the church leadership


Cardinal Oscar Maradiaga
He continued: "As we can differ only in the light of revealed faith from a purely human religious community, the Church, so we understand only in faith that the Pope and the bishops have a sacramental and healing supreme power  that connects us with God. This  distinguishes them from leaders those  religious community springs from sociological and organizational foundations," Cardinal Müller.
One  sentence rings forth with especial clarity: "The Synod of Bishops, the Episcopal Conferences and other coalitions of bishops belong to a different theological category than the Roman Curia." It's a direct criticism of a new idea that has formed in the circle of the C9 Cardinal Council, which is mandated to propose suggestions for the reform of the Curia. According to the new idea, ​the Synod of Bishops should become a sort of permanent institution that is part of the Roman dicasteries by a permanent delegation and should thus have a direct stake in Church leadership. [Like a sort of Universal Catholic Council of Bishops?] The spokesman for extending the influence of episcopal collegiality with a new Synodality is the Honduran, Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga.
"In definitive words, the Cardinals Miller and Sarah  express that which differs from figures such as Baldisseri, Marx, Tagle and Kasper," said Rorate Caeli.
Text: Giuseppe Mardi
image: Messa in Latino
Trans: Tancred verkon99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cardinal Muller is irrationally opposed to the Society of St Pius X.

Anonymous said...

Is there a cliff-notes version of this? Much too long and complicated. Can't these guys just call a spade a spade?

Anonymous said...

"The Successor of Peter is the rock which guarantees a rigorous fidelity to the Word of God against arbitrariness and conformism" (more polished English translation from the English version of that document).

But this would obviously mean there is no way Francis could ever be a successor of Peter, since Francis is the rock on which anything that is not arbitrary and off-the-cuff is broken in the RCC.

dave b said...

That document also says "He does not make arbitrary decisions, but is spokesman for the will of the Lord, who speaks to man in the Scriptures lived and interpreted by Tradition"

Francis' followers, however, will simply say that that document (written by Ratzinger when he was a cardinal) only expresses the personal view of what Ratzinger thought a pope should be like, and say it shows the idea of a contrarian pope standing in the way of liberal progress exactly as Ratzinger did, but in Francis they have a so much better pope (so they will say) because he DOES make arbitrary decisions and is NOT a spokesman for the will of the Lord and does NOT speak to man in the Scriptures..all of which they will say is a good thing and "progress" toward the ultimate perfection of humanity by evolution which is their god.

Tancred said...

And I wouldn't have thought he was capable of saying things like this. He's also been more favorably disposed to the Society lately.

Barnum said...

No doubt Gaybriel will be weighing in soon to affirm, gainsay, or deflect authoritatively that the Pope is subject to the Word of God and the Catholic Faith. If you need immediate entertainment, there is a greatly hilarious send up out there on the failure of the recent Synod by another Catholic blogger

https://mundabor.wordpress.com/2015/03/14/hitler-and-the-synod/

Gabriel said...

A fronte praecipitium, a tergo lupi.

Anonymous said...

In the beginning Cardinal Muller as Prefect of the CDF was known to be an enemy of Tradition. I have been suspecting more and more that he has changed his former position against Tradition and traditionalists. This article confirms it. Cardinal Muller's faithfulness to Christ's Church is becoming apparent. I hope he joins his faithful Brother Cardinals and publicly offers a Solemn Pontifical High Mass according to the Usus Antiquior My prayers in the meantime continue for the conversion of Pope Francis to the Catholic Faith.

Anonymous said...

This is quite impossible, Bergoglio isn't Catholic, wery simple, we must pray for the Lord to support f His Church, this human church isn't the real of Non praevalebunt, a worldliness quango for a worldliness Jubilee that will celebrate only Francis, Christ is the great Absent. May God have Mercy on us.

Gregkanga said...

All Cattholics take note of the heading. And, may I add, neither is our conscience.

jac said...

You are right, I noticed this change in Card. Muller's faith. Probably the work of the Holy Spirit?
Let's pray and hope He will work in the same way in the soul of Francis.

Anonymous said...

I'll take positive comments wherever I can find them, but these men are still, essentially, voices in the wilderness. For every one of the names mentioned, there are two or three Cardinals who feel exactly the opposite. And to make matters worse, it's they who have the Pope's ear.

I, too, am surprised by Muller, but has he become more conservative/traditional, or has the Church continued to move so far to the left that he now appears as such? My guess is the latter. And in many ways, that's what happened with Ratzinger. His views never changed. The Church just moved so far to the left that he appeared conservative.

As someone concerned with the Liturgy, though, I am pleased with Cardinal Sarah. He has, at least, shown support for those who prefer the Mass of Pius V and he correctly stated VII never banned the Mass. He failed to mention it was Paul VI he did that, but oh well.

Regardless, at least there is a core group of Cardinals willing to stand against the Bergoglian tide. Maybe they will be strong enough in their views to persuade others, especially if a new conclave happens in the near future. I'm not holding my breath though.

Anonymous said...

En Engles por favor Gaybriel.

Anonymous said...

Lol. That was really good.

Anonymous said...

I don't think we should assume Muller has had a change of heart regarding Tradition based on this comment. It's certainly a good comment, but does anyone think he's suddenly going to become a proponent of the TLM or pre-VII ways? I doubt it.

In the age of Bergoglio though, his words are still important. As I wrote below, I would still urge caution and ask this question. Has he grown more conservative or have the Church moved so far to the left that he now appears conservative. Right now, I still suspect the latter.

Anonymous said...

I think it's not so much that Muller has become more traditionalist, but rather that Francis and his gang of thugs (Maradiaga, etc), are such radicals and not even Catholic, that Muller feels he has to speak up for the true Catholic Faith. If Francis wasn't so against Catholic Tradition and in favor of the radical nonsense ,but rather just an ordinary Pope who is content to let everything be as it is, Muller would thus seem less pro-Catholic tradition. There would be no need for him to post in L'Osservatore Romano this document.

Anonymous said...

From the Gabrielese, "From the precipice in front, wolves behind." Whatever that means.

Anonymous said...

To the font a precipice (because the pope and the NeoCatholics are about to walk over a cliff like lemmings), to the back wolves (because the traditionalists have ceased to be sheeple and just follow the heretical popes but have rather grown some teeth and a backbone).

Anonymous said...

I have followed Muller since Pope Benedict XVl appointed him head of the CDF. I was shocked that B16 would elevate him to the CDF. Pope Benedict XVl is known as the wisest man on earth today. Now perhaps I think B16 knew what he was doing. Cardinal Muller since last year has come out strong in defense of Tradition. For the first time he met with His Excellency Bishop Fellay and the SSPX is now very confidant. Let us remember that Benedict XVl by his own words said he at one time was headed towards the liberal way, but changed. Perhaps the same has happened with Cardinal Muller, he has seen that the Church is on a dangerous path. And now he prefers Christ and his Church according to Tradition!

Anonymous said...

Well both Ratzinger and Muller are Vatican II guys, which means they traded Thomas Aquinas in for Karl Barth long ago, but even Barth was dogmatic on some things (he did write 13 volumes on Church Dogmatics) while Francis is dogmatic on nothing except not being dogmatic.

Anonymous said...

Most prior popes were dogmatic about upholding Catholic dogma; Pope Francis is dogmatic about denying most of Catholic dogma and replacing it with his own non-Catholic ideas.

Gabriel said...

Please substantiate these claims. Document your evidence that Pope Francis is denying Catholic dogma.

Anonymous said...

When I first read "Document your evidence that Pope Francis is denying Catholic dogma" my instinct was "How can someone be so clueless that they need anyone to prove this to them?" Then I saw the comment was by Gaybriel.

Anonymous said...

Gabriel, No need to document anything for you! Its you who needs to document that Francis has not contradicted Catholic Dogma! Sure you can find tidbits of truth when he speaks, but try explaining his doctrinal errors. Gabriel you have proven to be fighting a lost cause. Why not just give up Modernism?

Anonymous said...

Let us not forget what the whole world has said and continues to say, "Pope Benedict XVl is the wisest man on earth". Anonymous, I dare say Benedict knows Aquinas better than Aquinas.

Anonymous said...

I don't recall the whole world ever saying that "Benedict XVl is the wisest man on earth." I know for a fact that Gaybriel wouldn't say that. And as for this "I dare say Benedict knows Aquinas better than Aquinas," I don't think so. Reading the books from his cardinal days like Dogma and Preaching, The Spirit of the Liturgy, and the like, its clear he was infected with Barthianism in opposition to Aquinas. Did this change after he became pope? Maybe, maybe not. His first volume of Jesus of Nazareth was extremely good and conservative, while the second definitely takes a turn into more Francis-like (that is, Barthian vs Thomist, i.e. Vatican-II-esque) territory. But that's to be expected since he still has not renounced Vatican II and that's what Vatican II is.

Anonymous said...

Anyway my original point was the conservative Vatican II crowd does actually believe something. Even their Barthianism, despite being in many ways more Lutheran than Catholic, has a concept of orthodoxy to it. But Francis has no beliefs at all essentially. He's just a skull full of mush.

Gabriel said...

You obviously consider that you are exempt from the normal demands of truth and justice in publicly accusing another of a crime without evidence which would hold up in court.
How convenient!

Anonymous said...

Gabriel I do not consider myself "exempt from the normal demands of truth and justice". I consider myself subject to Truth and Justice. And it is in this that I accuse the Pope of deviating from the Truth of the Faith. He does not speak against individual Dogmas. He does worse, by his actions he clearly deviates from Dogma. Why do you think Cardinal Muller had to say, "The Pope is not above the word of God and the Catholic Faith"? Its because the Pope in humbling the Papacy has made himself far superior to the word of God and the Church founded by Christ. Forget the civil courts, we have a Supreme Authority who is God himself.

VTA said...

This is basic Catholicism. NO ONE can can change doctrine, invent new doctrine, or say it is permissible to ignore doctrine in "pastoral practice".

VTA said...

Agreed...PF just told Scalfari that unsaved souls don't go to hell, they are annihilated. You have to be deaf dumb and blind (like the establishment Catholic media) not to see what is happening.

VTA said...

Excellent! This is a comment thread, not an academic dissertation. Anyone listening to the Pope doesn't need documentation. That would require a book, at this point.

Anonymous said...

There is smoke around the alter.

Anonymous said...

Comment se déroule l'éducation sexuelle à l'école ?