Catholic Church leaders in Germany must be punished for breaking with the Vatican and approving blessings on same-sex marriages, two cardinals say.
Cardinal Raymond Burke of the United States and Cardinal Gerhard Müller of Germany spoke during an interview with EWTN about the de facto schism underway in Germany.
“Whether it’s deviance, heretical teaching, and denial of any of the tenets of the faith — or apostasy in the sense of simply leaving Christ and His teachings in the Church to embrace another form of religion — those are crimes,” Burke said.
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Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke attends the consistory for the creation of new cardinals led by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica. (Franco Origlia/Getty Images)
He continued: “I mean these are sins against Christ himself and obviously of a very serious nature.
Burke accused “revolutionaries” within the church of ignoring Vatican authority and turning a blind eye to Pope Francis’ opposition to its changes.
Last year, Pope Francis reminded believers in the country that German bishops do not have the power to spread new theology or change church leadership.
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Gerhard Ludwig Cardinal Müller (r) stands during a consistory in St. Peter’s Basilica. (Johannes Neudecker/Picture Alliance via Getty Images)
In the message, the pope expressed his concern for lay people and clergy in Germany when their leaders break with established church teaching. The statement claimed that Catholics would be adversely affected by the many proposed changes to the church being pushed by Cardinal Reinhard Marx and other liberal German leaders on their “Synodal Path.”
“In order to protect the freedom of God’s people and the exercise of the episcopal office, it seems necessary to clarify that the ‘Synodal Way’ in Germany does not have the power to force the bishops and the faithful to new ways of governance and new approaches in doctrine and morals “, says the statement of the Holy See.
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Pope Francis and German Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Prefect of the Papal Household, during the weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall. ((Photo by Grzegorz Galazka/Archivio Grzegorz Galazka/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images))
It goes on to say: “Until agreement is reached at the universal church level, it would not be permissible to initiate new official structures or teachings in the dioceses which would constitute a violation of ecclesial communion and a threat to the unity of the church.”
Müller struck a similarly harsh tone, demanding that German bishops be ecclesiastically tried and removed from office if they fail to normalize their teaching.
“There has to be a trial and they have to be convicted and they have to be removed from office if they don’t convert and don’t accept the Catholic doctrine,” Müller said.
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Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich and chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, celebrates the opening service of the conference in the cathedral September 25, 2018 in Fulda, western Germany. (ARNE DEDERT/DPA/AFP via Getty Images)
“[It] It is very sad that a majority of bishops voted explicitly against the revealed doctrine and faith of the Catholic Church and all of our Christian thought, against the Bible, the Word of God in Scripture and in the apostolic tradition and in the defined teaching of the Catholic Church,” said the German cardinal.
Last year, over 100 bishops from all over the world sent an open letter to the German bishops, calling on them to stop the synod and refrain from unauthorized changes.
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