by Kate Anderson
Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is releasing a book that accuses Pope Francis of giving “privileged status” to his friends that are accused of sexual abuse in the church, according to Catholic news website LaCroix International.
The Roman Catholic Church has suffered multiple sexual abuse scandals over the years after several reports from the Vatican found that the clergy, particularly in France, had abused thousands of victims. While Müller says that France’s Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church (CIASE) 2021 report was “inflated and exaggerated,” the cardinal claims in his new book, “In Good Faith: Religion in the 21st Century,” that Francis has helped protect those close to him by granting them a special “status,” citing the case of Argentine Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta, who was convicted in March 2022 of sexual abuse of two victims during seminary, as an example, according to LaCroix International.
Müller explained that his book will help legitimize concerns that others may have with the pope and said that the Holy Spirit does not influence Francis, according to LaCroix International.
“With this book I want to help people who have problems with this pontificate,” Müller said, “The Pope has no phone contact with the Holy Spirit.”
Müller has been an outspoken critic of Francis since the pope removed him from the position of prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith after Pope Emeritus Benedict stepped down, according to The Times. The German cardinal said his removal from the office was like “a thunderbolt out of the blue” that left Müller with no explanation for his forced retirement.
“Francis said to me, in short: ‘You have completed your mandate. Thank you for your work’, without giving me any reason at the time, nor giving me one afterwards,” Müller told LaCroix International.
Müller has also claimed that Francis cares more for issues like climate change and “globalization” than he does for theology. When Francis called for a radical response from the church to combat climate change, Müller argued against it, saying the church was not an expert in this area and should stay out of it, but acknowledged that it was difficult to side opposite the pope.
“I am a typical German professor, I am not so happy if people are talking about me,” Müller said. “As a Catholic theologian and a cardinal, it pains my soul to criticize the pontificate.”
Some have tapped Müller as the former Pope Benedict’s successor, according to The Times, due to similar conservative theology and Müller’s appointment by Benedict to the Doctrine of Faith. Müller’s book will hit shelves only days after another book released posthumously by former Pope Benedict appeared last week that gave an inside look into the church’s handling of pedophilia and homosexuality.
The Vatican did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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Kate Anderson is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Cardinal Gerhard Müller” by Elke Wetzig. CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo “Pope Francis” by Casa Rosada (Argentina Presidency of the Nation). CC BY-SA 2.0.
