German Cardinal Gerhard Müller has contradicted a senior Italian bishop who called the Reformation an “event of the Holy Spirit” ahead of its 500th anniversary.
Writing for Italian website La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, Cardinal Müller said such a view was unacceptable, as Martin Luther abandoned “all the principles of the Catholic faith, Sacred Scripture, the apostolic tradition, the magisterium of the popes and councils, the episcopate” – whereas the Holy Spirit “helps the Church to maintain its continuity through the Church’s magisterium”.
His intervention came after Bishop Nunzio Galantino, the secretary-general of the Italian bishops’ conference, reportedly said that “the Reformation carried out by Martin Luther 500 years ago was an event of the Holy Spirit”.
During a talk at the Pontifical University of the Lateran, the bishop argued that “The Reformation corresponds to the truth expressed in the saying Ecclesia semper reformanda [the Church always reforming].”
But Cardinal Müller, former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said modern-day Catholics often discussed Martin Luther “too enthusiastically”, mainly due to ignorance of theology.
He said it was wrong to think Luther’s intent was simply to fight abuses in indulgences or the sins of the Renaissance Church.
“Abuses and bad actions have always existed in the Church. We are the Holy Church because of the grace of God and the sacraments, but all churchmen are sinners, all need forgiveness, contrition and penance.”
The cardinal’s comments came ahead of Reformation Day on October 31, the 500th anniversary of Luther’s apocryphal nailing of his 95 Theses to a Wittenberg church door.
Cardinal Müller’s remarks were echoed by Fr Alejandro Moral Antón, prior general of the Augustinian order to which Luther belonged. Luther “abhorred religious life with all his might”, he said, and promoted “the mass exodus of vowed Religious”. He added: “The damage done to the order and to religious life in Germany was enormous.”
Youngsters disrupt ecumenical service
Police removed a group of young people from the Catholic cathedral in Brussels on Saturday after they recited the rosary out loud, disrupting a service recalling the Reformation.
French website Média-Presse-Info posted a leaflet that the group had reportedly handed out describing the service as a “profanation”. The event had been organised with the United Protestant Church. A Protestant pastor was preaching.
Areas of Catholic Herald business are still recovering post-pandemic.
However, we are reaching out to the Catholic community and readership, that has been so loyal to the Catholic Herald. Please join us on our 135 year mission by supporting us.
We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching.
We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values. Please consider donating.