Cardinal Müller: It’s a Revolution, not a Reformation

Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig , formerly prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), has written for La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana that what is considered the Reformation of Martin Luther is actually a revolution and “against the Holy Spirit,” KathPress from Austria reports.

The goal behind the wish for good relationships to non-Catholics can only be to lead them to full union with the Catholic hierarchy through their acceptance of the “apostolic tradition according to Catholic teaching.”

Müller argues that Luther did not merely have the intention of fighting against some abuses concerning indulgences or the “sins of the Renaissance church.” From Luther’s writings it is “absolutely clear the Luther abandoned all principles of Catholic faith.” He replaced the “objective reality of the sacraments with subjective faith.” One cannot consider the Reformation as “church reform in the Catholic sense” because of the abolishing of five sacraments, the denial of the Eucharist, and the critique of the notion of church office.

Many speak “too enthusiastically” about Luther according to Müller. This is caused by lack of knowledge of Luther’s theology, his polemics, and the “disastrous consequences of this movement, which for millions of Christians means the destruction of unity with the Catholic Church.” Although one should acknowledge the working of the Holy Spirit among non-Catholic Christians, reconciliation must not occur “at the cost of the truth.”

There can be no dialogue with Protestants about the substance of the doctrines of the faith. Otherwise it would mean that “for more than a thousand years” the church “taught error; but we know – and this is a core element of the doctrine of the faith – that the Church cannot err in her transmission of salvation in the sacraments.”

Müller lamented “confusion” about the binding quality of Catholic teaching. Many consider “the pope infallible when he speaks privately,” but put up for discussion what “the popes of all of history” have held as the substance of the faith.

Müller was not renewed as prefect of the CDF this past June by Pope Francis at the expiration of his five-year term.

(Featured image: Luther at the Diet of Worms, scene from the 2003 movie “Luther.”)
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Katharine E. Harmon, Ph.D., edits the blog, Pray Tell: Worship, Wit & Wisdom.

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9 responses to “Cardinal Müller: It’s a Revolution, not a Reformation”

  1. charles jordan

    View from the Pew
    Regarding: “There can be no dialogue with Protestants about the substance of the doctrines of the faith. Otherwise it would mean that “for more than a thousand years” the church “taught error; but we know – and this is a core element of the doctrine of the faith – that the Church cannot err in her transmission of salvation in the sacraments.””
    – Good grief! Archbishop Gerhard, one time of the CDF, seems to be omitting a lot of history in terms of the development of doctrine during which process the whole church was to amend and shift from earlier positions. That is, that there are sacraments and seven is their number is not something the disciples of Jesus necessarily received whole cloth as they grappled with the meaning of salvation.
    – As I recall, Reginald Pole, a council father of Trent, noted is own way that no heresy is so heretical that truth is so lost that there is no common ground for dialog.
    – Whether a revolution or a reformation one thing is clear the church / holy see/ papacy in those days did err and that is why those events exfoliated as they did.
    – A clear way to a restoration of unity is to not see the past from the perfection of the present but see the present in dialog with past events so that the future will be other than expected. The keystone for dialog is the common belief in our lord Jesus Christ — a shared truth for common ground.

    Reply
  2. Maxwell Johnson

    The goal behind the wish for good relationships to non-Catholics can only be to lead them to full union with the Catholic hierarchy through their acceptance of the “apostolic tradition according to Catholic teaching.”

    Really? This is the goal of Roman Catholic ecumenism today? That everyone else is supposed to “come home to Rome?” Where have I been the last 50 years or so? And here I thought that the goal was full communion in reconciled diversity. And by the way, what is not made clear above is that Cardinal Mueller was responding to Bishop Nunzio Galantino at the Pontifical Lateran University who, at a recent conference, had the ecumenical nerve to say: “The Reformation initiated by Martin Luther 500 years ago was an event of the Holy Spirit.” Amen to that!!

    Reply
    1. Devin Rice

      This is from paragraph three of UNITATIS REDINTEGRATIO.
      Certainly it needs to be read within the wider context of the entire document and the other VII documents, but it nonetheless confirms the desire for all believers to be full incorporated to the Catholic hierarchy and teaching.

      “Nevertheless, our separated brethren, whether considered as individuals or as Communities and Churches, are not blessed with that unity which Jesus Christ wished to bestow on all those who through Him were born again into one body, and with Him quickened to newness of life – that unity which the Holy Scriptures and the ancient Tradition of the Church proclaim. For it is only through Christ’s Catholic Church, which is “the all-embracing means of salvation,” that they can benefit fully from the means of salvation. We believe that Our Lord entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant to the apostolic college alone, of which Peter is the head, in order to establish the one Body of Christ on earth to which all should be fully incorporated who belong in any way to the people of God. “

      Reply
  3. Rita Ferrone Avatar
    Rita Ferrone

    This point struck me too. It seems that Cardinal Mueller is advocating an “ecumenism of return” which is not, so far as I am aware, the position of the Catholic Church on this subject. What Mueller says also seems actively opposed to dialogue, because it cannot be an honest dialogue if we have nothing to learn because we have never erred (?). We have the truth and “they” don’t? This reduces dialogue to a covert attempt at proselytism. Which it most emphatically is not!

    I am actually astonished that Mueller would have said things like this. Good grief indeed!

    Reply
    1. Jim Pauwels

      I agree it’s disconcerting, but it’s not unique to Cardinal Mueller. When I was in diaconal formation, during Cardinal George’s day, we once had a moral theologian from the seminary who explained to us that, because Protestants don’t accept the authority of the Catholic hierarchy, they are neither one, nor holy, nor Catholic, nor apostolic.

      It was difficult for me to hear then, and difficult for me to write today, and he acknowledged that his views wouldn’t be well-received by our dialogue partners. I’m sure he was relying on the content in UR that Devin Rice quoted above, and he was seeking to be faithful to what the church teaches, or taught back then.

      It’s not just on translation issues that there is more than one stream of thought in the church. My own amateur theory, for what it’s worth, is that there are at least four great streams of ecumenical activity:

      * The magisterial outlook espoused by Cardinal Mueller;
      * The outlook espoused by those who actually are active in the many interdenominational dialogues
      * The local, communal ecumenical cooperation and friendship that takes place among local faith community leaders, like the homeless shelters maintained by a network of local churches in my area
      * The reality of what I call the “ecumenism in the pews” – or in the neighborhood, if you like. All preachers are (or should be) aware that not everyone who is hearing their sermons each week share the preacher’s faith traditions – couples intermarry, they raise their children in each other’s faith traditions, they go to each other’s churches, “seekers” drop in anonymously, etc. I really believe that the people of God make ecumenical relations go much more smoothly than our high officials do.

      Reply
    2. Stephen Woodland

      Turn or burn. Very discouraging reading.

      Reply
  4. Rebecca Spellacy

    So, as someone who spent the better part of ten years as a non-Catholic married to a Catholic, going to Catholic universities (to study theology mind you), and as someone who takes very seriously the call of the ecumenical movement, I think he is on to something. Now hear (read?) me out please.
    The ecumenical movement did a lot of great things, the fact that as a Catholic my husband was welcomed in Episcopal, Anglican, and other Protestant settings says a lot if you understand the history there. The fact that I, as an Episcopalian was offer a Catholic Wedding Mass says a lot (and is fully in the rules so if you want to have that argument read the ritual first). The Ecumenical movement made it so we could all, in the words of a friend of mine “have tea and cake”. That’s a big deal and should not be overlooked.
    However, when it comes to the real goal of the what union is, we have to understand that union is more than tea and cake, it is about salvation. If, as a Catholic, I truly believe that I am correct (and that’s part of being Catholic) then everything I do should be about reconciling the world to Christ through the Church. The Ecumenical movement is no different. While we can learn from other Christians, true union can only happen when there is a common set of beliefs and union within them. Now I’m not saying that means everyone has to come home to Rome, I actually think there is some interesting theological and ecclesial space for Orthodox Christians that does not require total submission to the Roman Pontiff.
    All this to say, Catholics (and Orthodox) are different than Protestants and it is a fundamental, theological difference. Union can only truly happen if that is overcome. It seems then the choice is either go Protestant or go Catholic (or Orthodox). The Ecumenical Movement did great things socially, but we need to look beyond when possible.

    Reply
  5. Padre Dave Poedel

    Sadly, Cardinal Muller’s view is a prominent one in the Roman Church. When I studied Ecumenical Theology from a Roman Catholic Perspective, a wonderful course put on by the Centro Pro Unione in Rome I heard a lot about the history of the Dialogues between Rome and different Churches and “ecclesial communities” such as my own Lutheran one. When I pushed the point about what it would actually take for reunion, despite their protests, came down to “come home”.

    Until that changes we are in the same holding pattern we gave been in since 1965.

    Reply
    1. Karl Liam Saur

      That’s not the only thing that would need to change, right?

      Reply

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