Müller: Rescriptum is a "brutal intolerance"

The Pope is a gift to the Church and, indeed, to all Christians. This is because the Pope is the representative of Christ on earth, Christ, from whom his authority comes, gave the power to loose and to bind to all the Apostles, but to Simon Peter in a special way (CCC 881). But the only authority the Pope has finds its source in Jesus Christ: "The holders of office, who are invested with a sacred power, are, in fact, dedicated to promoting the interests of their brethren, so that all who belong to the People of God . . . may attain to salvation." (Lumen Gentium n.18)...In other words, the servant of the servants of God. So what are we to make of a Pope who uses his authority to directly subvert the purpose for which it exists?

Every single Catholic I have ever known who had an interest in or attended the Traditional Latin Mass did so out of a desire to grow closer to Christ. It may not be palatable for Catholics attached to the new Mass to hear, but they do it because it is a more serious form of worship, which, more especially today than at any other time perhaps, you will never find embellished with novelty or innovation, clowns or guitars or balloons. They do it because the liturgy is more beautiful, because they hear more of the Word of God in the Scriptures, because the prayers are deeper and more meaningful than the paired down versions in the novus ordo. They do it because they love Jesus and they want to be closer to Him. They love being Catholic, they love the Catholic Church and her Traditions. This is incredibly obvious to me. So how can it not be clear to the Pope? And if it is as crystal clear to him as it is to me, why oh why would he choose to isolate and attack them so vehemently, even to the extent that he wishes to expunge them and the Mass that they love most; the Mass of St Charles Borromeo, St John of the Cross, St Teresa of Avila, etc etc etc.

It appears I am far from alone in my thinking.

InfoVaticana has been in touch with Cardinal Müller to ask his opinion on the recent rescriptum obtained by Cardnal Roche which further restricts access to the Traditional Liturgy of the Catholic Church and enforces Vatican rule on local ordinaries in direction contradiction to the original moto proprio. 

If you don't know, Müller is the former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

InfoVaticana reported his response as follows:  

Müller starts by contrasting the Pontificate of Pope Francis with that of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI: 

"Pope Benedict XVI gave the papacy a great reputation, even among agnostics far removed from the church (Paolo Flores D'Arcais, Jürgen Habermas, Piergiorgio Odifreddi) through his high theological competence and intellectual honesty".

Müller argues that "it was not necessary for him [Pope Benedict XVI] to insist on formal obedience in an authoritative manner, because even the obedience of faith to God, which is decisive for salvation, does not require blind servility, but rather a devotion to God." 

On the other hand, the German cardinal affirms that "when it comes to obedience to ecclesiastical authority, a distinction must be made between religious obedience, which refers to the authorized submission of revealed faith, and the disposition to follow in good faith." 

"We distinguish between the substance of the sacraments, over which the Pope and the bishops have no power of disposal, and the liturgical rite, which has historically grown into the various legitimate rites within the one Catholic Church," added the cardinal.

Müller asserts that "Pope Benedict overcame the tensions that had arisen in a theologically competent and pastorally sensitive manner by distinguishing between the ordinary and extraordinary forms of the Latin rite." One might argue that this strategy gives the room for the Holy Spirit to freely move in the Church and it is indeed difficult to see how the wonderful growth we have seen in numbers attending the annual pilgrimage to Chartres, or the inspiring growth in vocations we see inspired by orthodoxy while decline continues to be the dominant narrative in the Church in general. 

To me, it seems that the Pope's approach here works against the Holy Spirit. 

We already know it is driven by an articulated fear of the growing devotion to the Traditional Latin Mass, I find it hard to see the Pope's actions here as anything other than a clear attempt to supress the work of the Holy Spirit?

Cardinal Müller describes the decision as "brutal intolerance" against those who prefer the Traditional Mass. Furthermore, he adds that it is a decision that "is pastorally self-defeating," and "a frightful example of theological incompetence to distinguish between the unavailable substance of the sacrament and the richness of forms of liturgical rites."

Indeed, Müller does not hesitate to point out that this new writing "degrades bishops or local ordinaries of secondary rank to petitioners to the highest authority (that is, the bureaucracy of the Department of Worship)". The German cardinal stresses that this decision "harms the pastoral responsibility of the episcopate" and "obscures the true meaning of the papacy, which is to represent and realize the unity of the Church in the truth of faith and sacramental communion."

Ironic that in Evangeli Gaudium n. 16, the same Pope writes: "It is not advisable for the Pope to take the place of local Bishops in the discernment of every issue which arises in their territory. I am conscious of the need to promote a sound decentralization."

In closing, Müller laments that "recognition of papal authority is not promoted, but weakened in the long term" since it can give the impression of a kind of autocratic leadership.