[The unvarnished version from the liberal Catholic press]
German friend of liberation theologian named Vatican doctrinal czar
by John L Allen Jr on Jul. 02, 2012
ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/german-friend-liberation-theologian-named-vatican-doctrinal-czar
In a widely expected yet still critically important move, Pope Benedict XVI has tapped Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller of Regensburg, Germany, to succeed American Cardinal William Levada as Prefect of the powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Among other things, the appointment means that Müller, 64, will be the key Vatican player in the overhaul of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious demanded by the doctrinal congregation in April.
Some observers believe the fact that the exchange with LCWR will now be led by a non-American may affect the intensity of the congregation’s interest, if not the substance of its positions.
Levada, who turned 76 in June, had led the congregation since May 2005.
The pope’s new doctrinal czar has a profile in Germany as a staunch defender of Catholic orthodoxy, yet not an ideologue. Among other things, Müller has a strong friendship with Peruvian liberation theologian Gustavo Guttierez.
Müller clearly enjoys the pope’s confidence.
Aside from the fact that Müller is the bishop of the pope’s home diocese, where Benedict’s brother Geörg still resides, he’s also the editor of Benedict’s “Opera Omnia,” a comprehensive collection of all the pope’s theological writings. Müller himself is a prolific author, having written more than 400 works on a wide variety of theological topics.
Despite his broadly conservative reputation, Müller actually earned his doctorate in 1977 under then-Fr. Karl Lehmann, who went on to become the cardinal of Mainz and the leader of the moderate wing of the German bishops’ conference. Müller’s dissertation was on the famed German Protestant theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Moreover, Müller is also a close personal friend of Guttierez, widely seen as the father of the liberation theology movement in Latin America. Every year since 1998, Müller has travelled to Peru to take a course from Guttierez, and has spent time living with farmers in a rural parish near the border with Bolivia.
In 2008, he accepted an honorary doctorate from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, which is widely seen as a bastion of the progressive wing of the Peruvian church. On the occasion, he praised Guttierez and defended his theology.
“The theology of Gustavo Gutiérrez, independently of how you look at it, is orthodox because it is orthopractic,” he said. “It teaches us the correct way of acting in a Christian fashion since it comes from true faith.”
Müller has been rumored to be in pole position to take over at the doctrinal congregation for some time, and late last year there was a push in traditionalist circles to try to block the appointment. E-mails were circulated suggesting that Müller, already a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is not a man of “secure doctrine.”
Specifically, the e-mails cited Müller for espousing suspect positions on the virginity of Mary (which he said in a 2003 book shouldn’t be understood in a “physiological” sense), the Eucharist (Müller has apparently counseled against using the term “body and blood of Christ” to describe the consecrated bread and wine at Mass), and ecumenism (last October, Müller declared that Protestants are “already part of the church” founded by Christ.)
Defenders of Müller argued that in each case, his words had either been taken out of context or were consistent with official teaching.
[The sanitized version from the mainstream Catholic press]
Bishop Müller Appointed New Prefect of CDF
by Edward Pentin Monday, July 02, 2012
www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/bishop-mueller-appointed-new-prefect-of-cdf#ixzz1zSw6VRD2
Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller of Regensburg as the new prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican announced today.
Bishop Müller replaces Long Beach, Ca.-born Cardinal William J. Levada, 76, who is stepping down on grounds of age. Bishop Müller also takes over Cardinal Levada’s other responsibilities as president of the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei” and the Pontifical Biblical Commission.
The new CDF prefect has been elevated to archbishop and will probably be made a cardinal at the next consistory.
The appointment of the 64 year-old bishop has been speculated for some time, with the German press reporting it as almost certain over the past few days.
Originally from Mainz in central Germany, Bishop Müller is already a member of the CDF and highly regarded in Rome. A professor of dogmatic theology, he specializes in defending faith and morals, is a prolific author, and has had a dogmatic textbook translated into several languages. He has a reputation among many as a defender of Catholic orthodoxy, and is also an expert on ecumenism as well as an accomplished scholar of liberation theology. Some traditionalists have voiced concern about some of his views, however, arguing he has not shown strong enough Catholic stances.
A personal friend of the Pope, the bishop won accolades for his organisation of the Holy Father’s visit to Regensburg in 2006. He has also been compiling the collected works of Joseph Ratzinger through the “Pope Benedict XVI Institute”, an organisation he founded in Regensburg in 2008.
Fr Gutierrez and Bp Müller
The theory that posits that Benedict XVI is secretly working to restore the Catholic faith in the Church, just got a big harpoon!
Doesn’t believe in transubstantiation, The Virginity of the BVM, Or the Doctrine of the Mystical Body; plus throw in that he is a liberation theologian.
This is going to be Cardinal that +Fellay will have to deal with if he decides to re-start the negotiations. I just don’t see it happening.
Actually, another theory just got a larger boost:
Balancing the progressive and conservative forces to allow evolution.
It’s going to be interesting for the next 10 years or so …
Of course, if the Pope dies within the next few years everything hinges upon the next Pope.
tradical said, “Balancing the progressive and conservative forces to allow evolution.”
Evolution into what? Some kind of “unity in diversity”?
Remember, it was Cardinal Ratzinger who said he would like to see the TLM and the Novus Order to “evolve” into one form of Mass.
Of Course; the theory of “balancing” would be valid if it were in the realm of legitimate disputes within Catholic theological schools; the fact that Benedict XVI would appoint a man who would impiously attack the perpetual virginity of Our Blessed Mother (Something even Martin Luther never did); just demonstrates how far things have fallen in the Church.
The Zenith article states the following:
Müller tiene reputación de defensor de la ortodoxia católica. [Muller has a reputation as a defender of Catholic orthodoxy] !!
So if Muller is the “conservative” who is the “liberal” going to be? And what does he believe in; Satanism?
NCR is the liberal Catholic press? I would call it the anti-Catholic press.