MÜLLER, Card. Gerhard Ludwig Country: Germany Residence: Rome, Italy DOB: Dec. 31, 1947 Created by: Pope Francis, February 2014 Consecrated by: Friedrich Wetter, 24 November 2002 Ordained by: Hermann Volk, 11 February 1978 Degree: Ph.D Expertise/experience: Theological Patronage and Associations: Episcopal Motto: Dominus Jesus: • Pope Benedict XVI “Lord Jesus” • Fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez Current positions: • Cardinal Deacon of Sant' Agnese in Agone (Since 2014) • Grandprior of the Church Council for the Sacred and Military Constantinian Order of Saint George Notable Previous Positions: • Bishop of Regensburg (2002-2012) • Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (2012-2017) https://betterchurchgovernance.org/ Table of Contents I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 II. BIOGRAPHY 6 A. TIMELINE 6 Birth-1980 6 1981-2000 6 2001-2010 6 2011-2020 7 III. BACKGROUND 8 A. INTELLECTUAL BACKGROUND 9 Education/Academia 9 Select Bibliography 9 B. FINANCIAL/ADMINISTRATIVE BACKGROUND 9 Assignments 9 Other Boards/Committees 10 Membership of Vatican Congregations 11 C. ASSOCIATION AND PATRONAGE 13 Bp. Johannes Joachim Degenhardt Error! Bookmark not defined. Bp. Stephen Ackermann 14 Bp. Georg Bätzing 14 IV. CHURCH GOVERNANCE 16 A. HANDLING OF ISSUES/CASES OF SEXUAL ABUSE 16 B. THWARTING PROCEDURES/LAWS DESIGNED TO LIMIT SEXUAL ABUSE 18 Christian Pfeiffer 18 C. HANDLING OF FINANCIAL/LEGAL INCIDENTS 20 Church Tax: Germany 20 The Becciu/Pell Dispute Regarding Irregular Loans. Error! Bookmark not defined. Residence: Munich Error! Bookmark not defined. Guest House: Rome Error! Bookmark not defined. D. THWARTING ANTI-CORRUPTION PROCEDURES/LAWS ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. E. POSITIVE EVIDENCE OF OPPOSING CORRUPTION/ABUSE 21 MÜLLER, Card. Gerhard 2 https://betterchurchgovernance.org/ Vatican Abuse Summit: Vatican City Error! Bookmark not defined. Westphal Spilker Wastl Study: Munich Error! Bookmark not defined. F. THWARTING PROCEDURES/LAWS DESIGNED TO LIMIT ABUSE/CORRUPTION ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. G. TRANSPARENCY 21 Media Transparency 21 Transparency of Governance 22 Financial Transparency 22 Transparency in Handling of Sexual Abuse Cases 22 V. CONTROVERSIES, TEACHINGS, AND PRIORITIES 23 A. TEACHING CONTROVERSIES AND DISPUTES 23 Amoris Laetitia and the Dubia 23 B. PASTORAL/THEOLOGICAL PRIORITIES 23 On Church Governance and Reform 24 Moral Teachings: Marriage, Family, and Sexuality 26 Moral Teachings: Abortion and the Death Penalty 26 Pastoral/Political Teachings: Gun Control, The Environment, Immigration 27 C: OTHER THEOLOGICAL ISSUES 28 VI. APPENDICES 29 APPENDIX I: LUKE HANSEN, S.J. INTERVIEW 29 MÜLLER, Card. Gerhard 3 https://betterchurchgovernance.org/ I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig was born on 31 December 1947 in Finden, a suburb of Mainz. He then studied under Karl Lehman for his doctorate in Theology, which he received in 1977. He then served in theological capacities across the Church before becoming Bishop of Regensburg in 2002. Müller’s episcopate was marked by reforms and struggles with several lay organizations such as Wir Sind Kirche and the Zentralkomitee der Deutschen Katholiken (ZdK). He resigned from his Seat in 2012 to become the Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under Pope Benedict XVI. He performed this duty for one term of five years before he was released rather abruptly under Pope Francis. Association and Patronage Cardinal Müller has been closely associated with Pope Benedict XVI, receiving most of his major positions from him. Müller also took the motto “Dominus Jesus” “Lord Jesus” when he became a bishop. Dominus Jesus was the title of one of Pope Benedict XVI’s most important and controversial documents when he was Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Cardinal Müller has also been closely associated with Fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez, the father of liberation theology. Liberation theology is a very controversial tradition of theology due to its Marxist ties. Cardinal Müller even wrote a book with Fr. Gutiérrez on liberation theology, titled On the Side of the Poor: The Theology of Liberation. Issues of Sexual Abuse Cardinal Müller has had several issues of sexual abuse during his time as Bishop of Regensburg. Peter Kramer, a pedophile priest who had been arrested in 2000, was reinstated by Müller in 2004 in a different parish. Kramer then proceeded to continue his molestation and was arrested again in 2007. The other major case is that of the Regensburg Choir School, which had more than 600 cases of physical or sexual abuse. Müller was criticized for his failure to respond effectively to the situation. MÜLLER, Card. Gerhard 4 https://betterchurchgovernance.org/ Financial/Legal Issues Cardinal Müller, like all the bishops in Germany, is involved in the decree which bans the laity from most sacraments unless they are registered with the government and pay the Church Tax. Transparency Cardinal Müller did not implement any procedures to improve clarity and he has been accused of hindering clarity during the 2013 sexual abuse study. Theological Priorities and Initiatives Cardinal Müller is a longtime supporter of his friend Fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez who is the founder of the liberation theology movement as stated above. Cardinal Müller also has been a proponent of orthodox practices and teaching within the German Bishops’ Conference, reinstating ancient traditions, such as the Pfingstritt Eucharistic procession in Germany, and attempting to clarify matters of doctrine, such as his Glaubensmanifest or Manifesto of Faith. By all the evidence he is a sophisticated theologian, who is deeply engaged with both progressive and traditional branches of Catholic theology. MÜLLER, Card. Gerhard 5 https://betterchurchgovernance.org/ II. Biography A. Timeline Birth-1980 Dec. 31, 1947: “[B]orn … in Finthen, a suburb of Mainz”1 1977: Earned his doctorate in theology under Prof. Karl Lehmann2 Feb. 27, 1978: “[H]e was ordained as a priest in Mainz-Finthen by Cardinal [Hermann] Volk.”3 1978: Installed as Pastor in Klein-Krotzenburg4 1979: Installed as Pastor in Bürstadt-St. Michael 1981-2000 1982: Tenure as pastor in Bürstadt-St. Michael ends, begins serving as secondary school teacher in Büdingen and Nidda5 1986: “[T]ook up the Chair of Dogmatic theology at the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich”6 1990: Appointed “member of the Commission for Doctrine and Faith of the German Bishops’ Conference”7 1998: Appointed “member of the International Theological Commission”8 1999: “[A]ppointed as peritus (theological consultant) to the Vatican’s Synod of European Bishops”9 MÜLLER, Card. Gerhard 6 https://betterchurchgovernance.org/ 2001-2010 2001: Appointed “theological consultant to the International Bishops’ Synod in Rome on the subject of ‘The Bishop as Servant of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for World Hope.’”10 Oct. 1, 2002: Nominated Bishop of Regensburg by John Paul II11 Nov. 24, 2002: Consecrated Bishop of Regensburg by Abp Friedrich Wetter12 2004: Then-Bp Müller assigned convicted pedophile Peter Kramer a new parish13 May 30, 2004: Reestablished the 600 year old Kötztinger Pfingstritt as a Eucharistic procession14 2007: Müller founds the Benedict XVI Institute15 2007: Fr. Peter Kramer is arrested and convicted on charges of child molestation16 Jul. 24, 2007: Awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Lima in Peru17 Dec. 20, 2007: Named a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith by Benedict XVI18 2007: “[F]ounded the Pope Benedict XVI Institute in Regensburg”19 Jan. 17, 2009: Nominated to the Pontifical Council on Culture20 2007: Fr. Peter Kramer is arrested and convicted on charges of child molestation21 Jul 24, 2007: Awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Lima in Peru22 2007-12-20: Named a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith by Benedict XVI23 MÜLLER, Card. Gerhard 7 https://betterchurchgovernance.org/ 2011-2020 2012-6-12: Nominated by Pope Benedict XVI to the Congregation for Catholic Education and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity.24 2012-7-2: “Pope Benedict [XVI] … nominated him Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and President of the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei”, the International Theological Commission and the Pontifical Biblical Commission, raising him to the dignity of Archbishop.”25 2012-7-29: Müller became a member of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts26 2013-9-23: Pope Francis confirmed him as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.27 2014: Nominated by Pope Francis to the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life and the Pontifical Council for Culture. 2014: Nominations to the Congregation for Catholic Education and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity were reconfirmed by Pope Francis.28 2014-2-22: Named Cardinal Deacon of the Church of Sant’Agnese in Agone in Rome by Pope Francis.29 2017-07-01: Müller’s tenure as prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ends.30 2017-07-18: The study commissioned by the Diocese of Regensburg on the abuse at the Regensburger Domspatzen is released31 2019-02-08: Muller publishes his Manifesto of Faith32 MÜLLER, Card. Gerhard 8 https://betterchurchgovernance.org/ III. Background A. Intellectual Background Education/Academia 1977: Doctorate in Theology “[Müller] earned his doctorate in … under Professor, later Cardinal, Karl Lehmann on the subject of ‘The Church and Sacraments