Cardinal Ludwig Müller, former Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, granted an interview to Italian daily Il Giornale, published on October 6.
Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, you are Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. How do you assess these first months of Pope Leo's pontificate?
"We were all happy that Pope Leo began his pontificate with Christ, the center of the Christian faith: this Christocentrism is necessary. Many want the Church to speak only about social and political issues. Of course, these are also part of its mission, but its primary mission is to preach the Gospel of salvation and eternal life for all people."
Do you think there will be more attention to collegiality during this pontificate?
"Yes, we talked about it before the conclave. The collegiality of bishops is an element of the Christian faith, of dogma. The Pope, as Bishop of Rome, is not isolated like an autocrat, but has a college of cardinals that is his senate. The advice given by the cardinals is very important, not for their own interests, but to help the Pope and his mission intellectually and morally."
Some people think that with Leo there will be a return to tradition.
"We must not make comparisons with previous popes. Leo cannot imitate Francis, just as Francis could not imitate Benedict, and so on. For example, there is talk of Leo wearing the mozzetta: this is not just something to make him look more handsome, but an expression of his office. In this sense, I think many people have imagined that Pope Leo wants to present himself more as the successor of Peter and not put his personality first. Clearly, we cannot separate the office from the person, but in a certain sense we must make a distinction."
Pope Leo said he has already received several letters on the subject of the Latin Mass. Do you think it is necessary to intervene on this issue?
Let us start from the fact that there are different rites, including the Latin rite, which is the most widespread. The fathers of the Council decided not to change the Mass, but only to change the rites a little to facilitate the active participation of the faithful. However, there are some who had reservations about the liturgical form and remained with the Latin rite as it was until 1962. Some of these so-called traditionalists say that only this form is valid. We cannot accept this; a more pragmatic and tolerant solution must be found. We must find a solution based on Catholic thinking, which distinguishes between the substance of the sacraments and the partially changeable rites."
What do you think about this?
“This issue cannot be resolved through authoritarianism. Mediation is needed: both sides must move a little towards each other. Clear, theological, and not just political reflection is needed.”
Among the many letters, Pope Leo also received a petition signed by numerous scholars asking him for clarification after the “confusion” generated by the LGBTQ+ community's jubilee. What do you think?
"I don't know if the Pope will say anything, but the situation is very clear: the Holy Year and the Holy Door cannot be exploited for an ideology of this kind. The Church, in the name of Jesus Christ, accepts all people and their problems, but God created man and woman, and only this marriage is the only possibility for living conjugally. The Holy Door cannot be used for political issues: I am thinking, for example, of those who come here on pilgrimage to raise issues concerning the conflicts between Palestinians and Israelis. But what does this have to do with their faith? Christ is the Holy Door through which we enter the Church, the family of God. We Christians must not defeat our enemies, but enmity."
On the subject of sexuality, the Pope said that the doctrine will not change, but that he confirms Francis' “Todos, todos, todos” (Everyone, everyone, everyone). Do you think he has found a compromise?
"All men are called to find Jesus Christ, the only savior of the world, but with a change in their lives. The problem is that many want to understand this ‘all’ as the acceptance of a lifestyle that goes against the Christian way of life. Let us think about tradition, about the Church of Rome in the second or third century. The members of the Church asked themselves: What should we do with gladiators who, despite killing other men, want to be baptized? To enter the Church through baptism, they must change their lives. And so it is for many other categories of people..."
The Pope spoke about American pro-lifers, saying that they cannot be against abortion but at the same time in favor of the death penalty or the migration policies in place in the United States...
"The Pope did not compare and relativize these situations, which are objectively different, but spoke only of the subjective consistency that is required in all different cases of protecting life. Abortion means killing an innocent person, and the Church has always said that it is a brutal crime. But it cannot be placed on the same level as the death penalty for a criminal who has killed other people. Even in the Old Testament, there is mention of the death penalty for those who have killed another person. I am personally opposed to this punishment, but we must remember that among the teachings of the Church, it was accepted, within certain limits and in extreme cases, that civil authorities could apply it. The issue of migrants is another matter: we must always treat our neighbor as a brother, but states have every right to regulate illegal immigration and protect their own population, perhaps from criminals arriving from other countries."
Do you think this pontificate will hold surprises for us, or will it be a pontificate without too many upheavals?
"I expect surprises concerning the Word of God and not sensationalism, such as saying, ‘Here is the first Pope to go to Moscow’ or things like that. The Pope is not a figure of public interest; he does not present himself according to the rules of a Hollywood star, but as a good shepherd who gives his life for the sheep of Christ.
"We are all convinced that our Pope has this balance in not presenting himself as a recognized person, as the most famous person in the world. All this has no value before God. What God thinks of us is more important than what men think of us. As Pope Leo himself said: 'Make yourselves small to make room for Christ.' " [source, in Italian]
