“Rise, Peter, and fulfil this pastoral office divinely entrusted to you,” exclaimed Pope Leo X in 1520 in the face of the errors of Martin Luther. It was, he lamented, particularly saddening that such error should have arisen in Germany, when its people are so naturally “germane to the Catholic faith”. As the present author has elsewhere observed, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since that time.
There is perhaps less surprise today to hear problematic theological assertions coming from beyond the Alps. Nevertheless, the scale of the problem has provoked consternation, even among countrymen of the German bishops themselves. Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was less than amused to be informed of the decision of the German bishops, as part of their Synodal Path, to endorse the blessing of homosexual unions.
At the final assembly held in Frankfurt on March 9-11, participants voted by an overwhelming margin formally to adopt the text, “Blessing ceremonies for couples who love each other”, which calls on German bishops to “officially allow blessing ceremonies in their dioceses for couples who love each other but to whom sacramental marriage is not accessible”. The text stipulates that “this also applies to same-sex couples on the basis of a re-evaluation of homosexuality as a norm variant [normvariante] of human sexuality”, and specifies that such blessing ceremonies are to be established “as a diocesan liturgy” and may be held “in the context of services of the word or the Eucharist”.
After the vote, and seemingly indifferent to Rome’s response, the president of the German Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing, announced on national German television that blessing homosexual couples “is something we are going to do here”.
Responding to the decision, Cardinal Müller told the Catholic Herald that the “demands” of the German synodal assembly are “the inevitable consequence of replacing the Christian image of man with a materialistic and nihilistic view of human existence”.
“The Christian faith is based on the knowledge that God created man in his image and likeness – male and female,” he said. “Marriage is the indissoluble union of man and woman, and children are born of this love as persons with a bodily and spiritual nature.” Noting that these truths about marriage are “linked to the family as a community of life, which is the essential nucleus of society, in both state and Church”, the cardinal observed that “all those involved in the succession of generations can fulfil their responsibilities in marriage and family with God’s blessing”.
On the other hand, he said, “invoking the name of God for behaviour that contradicts His will to create and redeem is a violation of the second commandment of the Decalogue: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain”.
Asked if the actions taken by the German bishops would be more aptly described as schismatic or heretical, the cardinal said, “In terms of content, these theses are heretical, while explicit withdrawal of obedience to the Roman Pontiff would have to be added to constitute formal schism.”
It remains to be seen how and indeed if Pope Francis will respond to the German bishops. But in March 2021, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith reaffirmed that “the Church does not have, and cannot have, the power to bless unions of persons of the same sex”.
In light of this truth, Cardinal Müller said the act of “blessing” a homosexual union is, in fact, “an empty gesture, deceiving those concerned and exposing their souls to the peril of loss of salvation”. He affirmed that the present case is analogous to St Paul’s admonition in 1 Corinthians 11:29, where the apostle warns the early Christians, regarding their reception of the Holy Eucharist, that “anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment upon himself”. Recalling the apostle’s later warning to the Corinthians “not to be deceived” (chapter 6:10), the cardinal said, “It should also be noted that active homosexuals and paedophiles are excluded from the kingdom of God as long as such serious sins are not repented of and forgiven.”
Asked how he believes the Holy See should respond, Cardinal Müller replied: “For the sake of the truth of the Gospel and the unity of the church, this false teaching must be publicly rejected. The bishops guilty of these heretical positions must be tried at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for heresy and schism.”
The cardinal said the results of the German Synodal Way “should also be a warning to anyone who wants to use the 2023-24 Synod of Bishops to undermine the revealed doctrine of the Catholic Church, under the hypocritical pretext of making it more accessible to people today. For, in reality, they are leading believers away from the Word of God, which alone contains truth and salvation.”
St Paul tells us that the first appearance of the Risen Lord to one of his apostles on Easter Sunday was to Peter, but there is no description anywhere of this episode. One imagines it might have been slightly uncomfortable given the events of the preceding days. But even beyond the Easter Vigil, Easter remains a season of repentance. In this crucial hour, let Peter rise.
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