Müller Shows how New CDF is Wrong
- Posted by Mary's Advocates
- On October 15, 2023
by Bai Macfarlane
Cardinal Müller on Communion to Adulterers
While the bishops are having their secret synod on synodality in Rome, Cardinal Müller is defending the doctrine of the faith in public. Müller just issued a public letter explaining why Pope Francis and the new head of the CDF have no authority to reverse the timeless teaching on Communion for divorced and remarried.
A simple way to explain the situation is to consider that 5-3=2. This is true. When Christ formed the Church, he instructed his bishops to teach the world what He taught. The Church has God’s promise that when it authoritatively defines a matter on doctrines of faith or morals, the Church will be correct. Bishops don’t have any power to invent random notions on faith and morals because God established these truths.
If Scripture and the Church’s magisterium taught that 5-3=2, the Catholic faithful would be bound to believe it. Moreover, adhering to this truth would result in human flourishing. If a Cardinal in charge of the CDF (now called Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith) wrote a letter saying that 5-3=1, and got the Pope to sign it, the faithful should not believe them. This is what is happening now with the newfangled notion that unrepentant adulterers can be admitted to Holy Communion.
Müller used to be in charge of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith and he was fired by Pope Francis and replaced by Cardinal Victor Fernández. On September 25, Cardinal Fernández issued a letter to Czech bishops (co-signed by Pope Francis) that purports to issue new magisterially-binding teaching that opens the door to giving Communion to unrepentant adulterers in second marriages. On October 13, however, Cardinal Muller issued a letter to Czech Cardinal, Dominik Duka. Müller explains why the faithful are bound to disobey Fernández and the Pope who claim that Fernàndez’ innovations “must be given a religious submission of mind and will.”
You can read journalist Sandro Magister’s chronology of events and Cardinal Müller’s letter,“Exclusive. Müller Writes to Duka: Fernández Goes Against Catholic Doctrine, and With Him Is the Pope.”
Müller’s letter to the Czech Cardinal includes the following gems:
“For it happens that the teaching of the ‘Risposta’ [i.e. Fernández’ letter] is contrary to other teachings of the Church, which are not only affirmations of the ordinary Magisterium, but have been taught in a definitive way as belonging to the deposit of faith.
“In fact, the teachings of John Paul II, Benedict XVI and of the Council of Trent bear witness to the Word of God, to which the Magisterium ministers. All pastoral care for Catholics in second marriages after a civil divorce must be based on this witness, because only obedience to the will of God can serve the salvation of persons.
“the mercy of the Gospel does not consist in tolerating sin, but in regenerating the heart of the faithful, so that they may live according to the fullness of the love that Christ lived himself and taught us to live.
“But let us put this last point aside to focus on the surprising affirmation made by the DDF [i.e. Fernández’ letter]. It turns out that the faithful themselves decide whether or not to receive absolution, and the priest only has to accept this decision! If we apply this conclusion to all sins, the Sacrament of Reconciliation loses its Catholic meaning. Confession is no longer the humble request for forgiveness of one who stands before a merciful judge, the priest, who receives his authority from Christ Himself, but it is a self-absolution after having examined one’s own life.
“It is astonishing that the DDF could present to the Holy Father for his signature, in the course of an audience, a text with such theological flaws, thus compromising the authority of the Holy Father.
“As can be seen, the DDF has selected a small part of the text of St. John Paul II, while omitting the main argument, which is contrary to the argument made by the DDF.
The second innovation included in the “Risposta” is that each diocese is encouraged to develop its own guidelines for this discernment.” … “Therefore, for a person to be able to receive communion in one local Church and not in another is an exact definition of schism.”
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