[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Müller: We need a ‘successor of Peter’ not of one man’s ‘private ideas’

LifeSite News ^ | May 5, 2025 | Michael Haynes

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[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Müller: We need a ‘successor of Peter’ not of one man’s ‘private ideas’

Speaking to LifeSiteNews, Cdl. Müller firmly rejected the notion of trying to 'change doctrine' since the Church's teaching is for the care of souls, stating, 'doctrine is also a medicine.'

Cardinal Gerhard Müller has warned that cardinals are called to elect the “successor of Peter” rather than a man who will continue “the private ideas of any previous pope.”

Addressing the congregation at his titular church of Sant’Agnese in Agone in Rome on Sunday, Müller delivered his final pre-conclave thoughts to the outside world.

A conclave, he said, “offers us an opportunity to reflect on the mission of the Church.”

Quoting from the Gospels, Müller noted that the task of the successors of the apostles is to continue the mission bestowed on them by Christ, “so that the world may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing they may have life in His name.”

Key to continuing the command of Christ is the office of the papacy, said the German cardinal. “The Pope exercises the Petrine ministry by uniting all the bishops and faithful in the profession of faith in Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus, in the Upper Room before His Passion, gave Peter the task of confirming the faith of his brothers. Finally, the risen Lord entrusted to Peter the office of universal shepherd.”

Participating in his first conclave, Müller warned those joining him in the Sistine Chapel later this week that their duty is not to continue the legacy of the pope who has died, but of God:

We must remember that the main task of the cardinals in the conclave is not to elect a continuer of the private ideas of any previous pope, but the future successor of Peter, who is the visible and perpetual principle and foundation of the unity of the Church in revealed truth

Expanding on such themes, the cardinal described the duty of every successor of St. Peter as being the “fulfillment of the mission” which the Prince of the Apostles received from Christ:

It must be very clear to everyone that continuity in the 266 successive pontificates to date consists in the fulfillment of the mission that the Lord first entrusted to Simon as a historical figure, establishing in him forever Peter, that is, the Petrine ministry. And so Christ, the very head of the Church, defines what a pope should be and do. We are not allowed to secularize the papacy by modeling it on political and media stereotypes.

Such words echo those made by Müller to LifeSiteNews previously. Speaking on the pontificate in February, he again pointed back to the origin of the papacy as a way of understanding the necessary candidate for such a role:

All the time, every pontificate must go to the origin. The origin is present in the office of Saint Peter, and therefore a pope will become seated on the Cathedra of Peter; not the Cathedra of Francis or Benedict. They are only the chronological predecessors, but every pope is a successor of Saint Peter.

He further added that cardinals must put aside criteria of looking for a certain nationality of candidate, and instead look at what the papacy is, as instituted by Christ:

[Cardinals must be aware that] we are not only looking at what will be the reactions of the mass media saying, “We need a pope who is communicator in this world,” or secondary criteria that “Now we need an African or now we must return to an Italian,” or all these stupid criteria. They have nothing to do [with the papacy.]

We have to look to the explanation Jesus Himself gave of the service and the office of St. Peter, in the words He spoke to St. Peter: you are the rock and I give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven and you have to confirm your brothers in the faith and you are the shepherd of the the universal Church.

In an interview given to this correspondent over the past weekend, Müller again echoed these sentiments. A pope “doesn’t receive a new revelation,” but rather has the duty to preserve the “conservation and clearness of the revealed doctrine.”

Müller – formerly head of the Vatican’s doctrinal office – further warned against a division between Church teaching and a personal understanding of God, noting that “we cannot split personal relation to Jesus Christ and the content of our belief.”

Pointing to the relation between “doctrine” and “pastoral care,” Müller firmly rejected the notion of trying to “change doctrine” since the Church’s teaching is for the care of souls: “Doctrine is also a medicine.”

Join Bishop Strickland’s novena for a holy pope – To catch up with the previous days, click here

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TOPICS: Catholic; Current Events
KEYWORDS: conclave; mueller

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In an interview given to this correspondent over the past weekend, Müller again echoed these sentiments. A pope “doesn’t receive a new revelation,” but rather has the duty to preserve the “conservation and clearness of the revealed doctrine.”

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