Former Vatican Official Asks Pope Francis to Sanction LGBTQ-Positive German Bishops
Cardinal Gerhard Müller
A conservative cardinal has called on Pope Francis to punish German bishops who aim to make the church more inclusive for LGBTQ+ individuals and women.
Cardinal Gerhard Müller, a former prefect of the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, made his comments in an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica. Müller has actively opposed the German church’s progressive initiatives in its recently-concluded Synodal Way, a multi-year, wide-ranging process of consultation.
The cardinal now stated that Pope Francis should take disciplinary action against the German bishops who supported blessings for same-gender couples and women’s rights, according to America:
“There are German bishops who have voted for heretical texts, and according to me there should be a canonical process [against them]. Collegiality exists, but there is also the primacy [of the pope], and canonically the pope has the responsibility to ask for an explanation, to correct and—in extreme cases—to dismiss bishops for doctrinal questions. They say the understanding of doctrine can develop, but we cannot develop revelation.”
When asked whether God could ever bless a same-gender couple who love each other, Müller claimed that “this is not possible” since blessing such couples is “blasphemy.”
In addition, Müller criticized the LGBTQ+ ministry of Fr. James Martin, SJ. Although Pope Francis has signaled support for Martin’s work, Müller believes that the pope should firmly oppose such efforts.
Since leaving the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2017, Müller has not obtained an official position in the Vatican. He has a history of conservative, LGBTQ-negative rhetoric. In 2020, Müller claimed that the LGBTQ+ movement aims to “destroy marriage and family.” Prior to this incident, Müller denied the legitimacy of the LGBTQ+ movement claiming that it is “hoax” that serves to threaten people. He even compared the movement for LGBTQ+ equality to Nazism and the regimes of North Korea and the former Soviet Union.
Cardinal Müller’s repeated condemnations of moves for equality and inclusion reveal that his perception of the LGBTQ+ community is misguided and discriminatory. The cardinal believes that German Catholics’ efforts to be more inclusive are “against the Catholic faith,” yet he does so by not considering the Catholic teaching of the inherent dignity of LGBTQ+ individuals. Thankfully, it is almost certain Pope Francis will ignore Müller’s appeal to sanction Germany’s bishops who are to be commended for their LGBTQ-positive efforts.
—Sarah Cassidy (she/her), New Ways Ministry, April 15, 2023
This Cardinal is simply a truly angry man. No wonder he does not have a new post. He blames his predicament on others. I applaud the progressive German Bishops who want to “save” all souls.
The anger has a source every knowledgeable person knows and his victims share it openly while he hides his. Suppression of it causes violence.
I follow John Allen’s Crux weekly report and a few weeks ago he reported that the same German cardinal, at the last consistory, wrote a letter to Francis (which he didn’t send but published) suggesting that the next papal conclave be limited to cardinals from the west, thus limiting the vote only to those cardinals from the industrialized part of the globe, clearly an effort to weaken Francis’s effort to internationalize the college of cardinals. As Allen points out, growth in the Catholic church is outside the west, where Catholic membership is in clear decline. Africa is the highest growth continent.
Things were so much simpler for the Church centuries ago when heretics were burned at the stake. It was easy to keep them quiet. They simply disappeared, they were erased.
It’s a lot harder now when voices of dissent need to be heard. Listening requires effort. Heaven forbid, inclusion.
Your eminence, Cardinal Muller, come and get me. I’ve witnessed one civil union between two gay men about five or more years ago. I signed the license as a legal clergy person recognized by that state. I’d do it again if the circumstances were similar.
I love my German heritage. Maybe Bishop Batzing of the Diocese of Limburg would take me in. Even at 80 years of age this would be a life giving move.
It seems the cardinal (Muller) is against blessing love.”When asked whether God could ever bless a same-gender couple who love each other, Müller claimed that “this is not possible” since blessing such couples is “blasphemy.” Does this mean that the God of Heaven cannot bless love? What does this make God? I thought “Love was Love”.