Top papal ally tells Vatican doctrine chief Müller to loosen up

Photo ~ Pope Francis has established a panel of eight cardinals to advise him on reform of the Vatican bureaucracy. Pictured are top from left Cardinals Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa, retired archbishop of Sa ntiago, Chile; Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa, Congo; Giuseppe Bertello, president of the commission governing Vatican City State. From bottom left are Cardinals Sean P. O’Malley of Boston; Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising, Germany; Oswald Gr acias of Mumbai, India; and George Pell of Sydney. CNS photos/Paul Haring

Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, told the daily Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger that the Catholic Church has reached “the dawn of a new era” under the leadership of Pope Francis. He expressed excitement about the Pope’s vision for reform in the Church, which he said would emphasize “greater simplicity of life and leadership.”

In perhaps the most surprising part of the interview, Cardinal Rodriguez voiced a public disagreement with another leading prelate when he made clear his disagreement with Archbishop Gerhard Müller, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, regarding proposals to allow divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion.

Last October, in a strongly worded article published in the official Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Archbishop Müller cautioned German bishops against assuming a change in the Church’s policy, emphasizing the constant teaching that a marital bond is permanent an inviolable.

Cardinal Rodriquez did not disagree with the Church’s teaching. “The Church is bound by God’s commandments,” he told the German newspaper. “What God has joined together, man must not divide. That is clear.” However, he said, “there are many approaches to interpret it.” Some couples may not truly be married in the eyes of God, he said, and the Church might reconsider the requirements of a binding Christian commitment. He suggested that Archbishop Müller should be open to discussion of the problem, because “maybe you’re right, but maybe you’re wrong.” Oddly enough, Cardinal Rodriguez admitted that he had not spoken directly with Archbishop Müller, the Vatican’s chief doctrinal spokesman, about the question.

Link to Catholic World News