Cardinal Müller: No Christian is Obliged to Follow Green Pope

Cardinal Gerhard Müller criticizes a "left-green" agenda of Pope Francis and some bishops. No Christian is obliged to follow them.

(Canberra) The Australian newspaper The Australian published in its weekend edition (The Weekend Australian) from 28./29th of July a clear criticism of the administration of Pope Francis. The article was written by Tess Livingstone, who had a conversation with Cardinal Gerhard Müller. Headlines such as, "Green Pope is fallible" and "The Pope is not infallible in environmental matters, says a major cardinal," was the direction of the story.

Livingstone's key message from Cardinal Müller is:

"Christians are not obliged to follow the left-green agenda of Pope Francis".

Specifically, by the climate change agenda is meant, Pope Francis of the Catholic Church, while his predecessors were anxious not to be hitched before a dubious, politically and ideologically motivated cart. But Cardinal Müller is not just talking about climate change.

According to the author, referring to Cardinal Müller, there is no obligation for Christians to fight fossil fuels or for compliance with international climate agreements such as the Paris Climate Agreement of December 2015, which is based on the claim that man is to blame for global warming.

As a reminder, this agreement was strongly supported by Pope Francis. He had a climate conference held in the Vatican in spring 2015 in cooperation with the United Nations, at which scientists who doubted the allegation of a human-induced global warming were summarily excluded. Then the Pope published an eco-encyclical, illuminated the façade of St. Peter's Basilica with suggestive images at the High Feast of the Immaculate Conception, sent a message to the climate conference in Paris, tried to prevent the election of Donald Trump and warned against the climate agenda his election victory.

What Livingstone writes could also be said: Pope Francis takes on the role of a kind of supreme religious leader, who in the name of religions as a moral authority pressures to enforce and maintain a certain political direction. However, the Catholic church [maximum] leader is, and this is criticized, active not in his own, religious sphere - and certainly not in the sense of the truth. Rather, he fulfills the role of a global ecclesiastical civil servant, as envisioned by the enlightened state church, such as Josephinism.

"We are not a party of the Greens"

Cardinal Müller, who was in Australia for a priestly meeting, told Livingstone:

"We are not a party of the Greens".

More and more Catholics are gaining the opposite impression when, with a shake of their heads and astonishment, they take note of Pope Francis' statements and gestures.

Instead, Cardinal Müller warns of such powers, because these are the same forces that restrict the freedom of religion and want to force hospitals to perform abortions. These forces "are moving towards totalitarianism," which is why Church leaders and citizens must confront them.

The separation of Church and state (God and Emperor) was vital, and environmental politics had nothing to do with either faith or morality. In other words, Pope Francis ought not interfere. This is not a topic of the Church, but, according to Cardinal Müller, the various parties and their constituents.

Just recently, Curial Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, a close associate of Pope Francis, called for environmental protection to be incorporated into canon law. The cardinal said this at a conference on the "energy transition" organized by a Catholic ecology movement in Rome.

Such a demand and positioning contradicts Cardinal Müller. Church leaders should focus on religion. Instead of such interference in day-political topics, a new evangelization of the youth is needed, especially in Germany. For this, the liturgy must be focused on Christ and should not degenerate into a "religious entertainment".

Taboo Word "Schism" - "Fathers do not retreat"

Tess Livingstone threw another, hot button keyword in the round:

"There is one word that princes of the Church shun: the 'schism'".

Cardinal Müller also makes an exception when he emphasizes that it needs "clarity" based on "God's Word" given by Jesus Christ. This "clarity" is needed by the Pope and the bishops. From them it was required to overcome the "schism" that already existed de facto, and which is generally described by the division into a "conservative" and a "progressive" wing in the Church.

Cardinal Müller also spoke with Livingstone about Benedict XVI, whose Collected Works the cardinal publishes. His Grace raised another question. He described the resignation of a pope as a "problem,” as well as the duty first introduced by Pope Paul VI. of the bishops to retire at the age of 75.

"These are fathers, and fathers do not retreat," said the cardinal.

He also named another shortcoming. Many of the cardinals who will elect Pope Francis' successor do not know each other. Francis replaced the previous practices in cardinal appointments and appointed numerous unknown bishops from unknown dioceses. According to Cardinal Müller, it is problematic that the pope conducted five consistories for the creation of the cardinals, but for four years he had no longer convened a single general assembly of the College of Cardinals. This lack also contradicts the alleged collegial and "synodal", "modern style" of which Francis says he wishes to promote.

Finally, Cardinal Müller handed down another side blow. Pope Francis listens to "so-called friends" who did not always prove to be friends.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Image: The Australian (Screenshot)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG