Cardinal Müller granted the following interview to Iacopo Scaramuzzi, for Italian daily Repubblica, and published yesterday:
“The future pope is not a successor of his predecessor but a successor of Peter": thus German Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, a member of the conservative wing of the College of Cardinals.
Your Eminence what are your feelings at this moment?
“A chapter in the history of the Church has closed. Clearly, the last judgment is up to God, we cannot judge people. If we talk about the pontificate, however, there are different opinions. There is unanimous appreciation for Francis' engagement with migrants, the poor, and to overcome the divisions between the center and the periphery. On the other hand, however, at some moments he was somewhat ambiguous; for example when, with Eugenio Scalfari, he spoke about the resurrection. With Pope Benedict we had perfect theological clarity, but everyone has his own charisms and abilities and I think Pope Francis had them more in the social dimension.”
Did you appreciate that Francis ruled until his last breath, without resigning?
“Yes. Clearly I don't want to criticize Pope Benedict for his decision but I have always said that we must avoid the impression that the pope's mission is only a function. Resignation must be an exception, one cannot think that the apostles have retired....”
Should the next pope in his opinion change the blessing of same-sex couples?
“He needs to clarify that. The document approved under Francis was meant to help these people pastorally, but the Catholic doctrine of marriage should not be relativized.”
You said the assemblies convened by the pope were a mere symposium.
“The bishops have an authority that cannot be confused with the possibility of all the baptized to speak. It is a conference, which is legitimate, but it is not a synod, it is not an expression of the Magisterium of the Church. Clearly those who understand nothing or little about Catholic theology say: now the Pope changes the Church from an autocracy to a democracy. But it is a wrong premise to confuse the Church with a political organization, like the World Economic Forum or the United Nations.”
Pope Francis appointed a woman prefect of a Vatican dicastery: will it be good to repeat this kind of choice in the future?
“The problem is not the woman, the problem is a layman called to preside over what used to be a congregation, which is an expression of the authority of the College of Cardinals. The impression of people from the outside was, 'Ah, at last a woman!' And I think that when it comes to administrative offices like the Governorship, there is no problem with it being run by the laity, but the Roman Curia is an ecclesiastical body.”
Pope Francis has been very committed to dialogue with Islam: should it be continued in your opinion?
“Already St. Thomas Aquinas distinguished things: on the level of reason; we can dialogue with them: they respect certain principles of natural ethics and believe in God in their own way. However, we must ask ourselves how it is possible that one who believes in God, the creator of all men, can kill in the name of God. Dialogue, yes, but avoid all forms of relativism: the Catholic faith is not a singular expression of a universal world religion created by the Davos forum.”
Bergoglio signed a historic agreement with China: will this path be continued?
“Compromises are reached with these powerful dictators, but we cannot betray the principles of our faith, we cannot accept that atheistic Communists, enemies of humanity, write our catechism books or bring the image of Xi Jinping into the churches. We cannot accept Communists appointing bishops.”
What should the next pope do and what profile should he have?
“Every pope must serve the mission of St. Peter: he is servus servorum Dei. The future pope is not a successor of his predecessor but a successor of Peter.”
Do you think your positions are shared in the College of Cardinals? Do you feel you are a minority?
“It may be that some say, 'These theologians talk, others are pragmatic, they think more about power, influence...' I don't know. Everyone needs to remember that we are the mystical body of Christ, and not an international humanitarian and social organization. This pleases a lot of secularized people, the elite, the oligarchs, who would like the Pope as a symbol of their religion -- but the Pope is not a symbol of secularized religion.”
[Source, in Italian]
