Cardinal Müller by Allison Girone (Left), Charlie Kirk by Gage Skidmore / Flickr (Right)
In a two-part interview with Rome-based journalist Diane Montagna, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, addressed a number of topics including the assassination of Charlie Kirk, a recent drone show outside St. Peter’s Basilica, and the “LGBT Jubilee pilgrimage” that occurred this month at the Vatican.
Cardinal Müller: Kirk died ‘as a martyr for Jesus Christ’
“Charlie Kirk was the victim of an atheistic ideology, whose followers erupted in satanic celebration over the heinous murder of an exemplary husband and family man,” Cardinal Müller told Montagna in part one of the interview, published Sept. 17.
Cardinal Müller noted Kirk was devoutly Christian.
“From a supernatural perspective, he died not as the victim of a political assassination,” he said, “but as a martyr for Jesus Christ — not in the sense of those who are canonized, but as one who bore witness (from the Greek martyrs) through his life.”
“He gave his life in following his Lord, as a sacrifice for the truth that man is made in God’s image, male and female, and in opposition to the lies and self-mutilation promoted by so-called ‘trans-ideology’ and ‘gender-affirming care,” the cardinal continued, adding that Kirk defended the dignity of every human from conception to natural death as well as the beauty and sanctity of marriage and family. He later added that Jesus alone can deliver from lies, sin, and death, and he prayed that Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary comfort Kirk’s grieving family.
Islam, wokeism, and Germany
In part one of the interview, Cardinal Müller also addressed his perception since Pope Leo XIV was elected, how the Church should respond to those coming to Europe, and the dangers of wokeism.
Since Pope Leo’s election, Cardinal Müller told Montagna, “There is a more Christ-centered proclamation of the Gospel, greater order, and less emphasis on matters of secondary importance for the Church, such as migration, which is primarily the task of the State.”
The Church’s primary mission is to preach the Gospel and evangelize to all people; not simply “to provide material aid,” the cardinal said, “but to give them the truth.”
He noted that many Muslims are coming to Europe and said “we cannot allow them to impose their religion on our culture. We must confront this with the message of God’s love, since the image they have of God — a dictator whose arbitrary will must blindly be obeyed — is not the image that Jesus has given us. God is our Father, our Creator, who created us according to his image and likeness. We are His children, and by the Holy Spirit we can become the friends of God, friends of Jesus Christ.”
Ideologies including fascism, communism, nationalism, and wokeism have secularized a number of European countries, the cardinal warned, so the Church must witness this message to them. Elaborating on the dangers of wokeism, he explained that it is opposed to personal identity, the male and female body, stable relationships, history, and distinct cultures and languages, and is essentially “a continuation of the old Marxism.”
He noted that while Islam “has nothing inherently to do with wokeism,” a number of “wokeist” ideologues are trying to “[instrumentalize] Islam to undermine Christian identity and Western tradition and culture,” he said, later citing England as a country where this is taking place. “I believe, though, that these same wokeists may be the next victims of radical Islamists.”
In Germany, where Cardinal Müller is from, he said the situation is similar to England, where there is violence perpetrated by Muslim men against women and girls. Further, though there is religious freedom in Germany, Christians have become hesitant to practice the faith openly, out of fear of offending others, the cardinal said.
If Germany’s situation continues as it is, the country “could become like North Africa,” which was completely Catholic until Islam arrived and within 500 years the population was entirely Muslim, the cardinal said. Islam could become the dominant religion in 20 to 30 years, he said, adding that Germany “already is” a Muslim country in some ways.
“Muslims dominate public life,” he said, “in part because politicians live in fear of them.”
Cardinal Müller: The ‘LGBT Jubilee pilgrimage’ was ‘an absolute scandal’
Montagna later turned to the recent “LGBT Jubilee pilgrimage” that occurred at St. Peter’s Basilica earlier this month and noted that one participant was photographed holding hands with another man and wore a backpack that read “F*** the Rules” into St. Peter’s Basilica.
“They desecrated the temple of God, ‘making the Father’s house a marketplace,’” Cardinal Müller said, quoting John 2:17. “The LGBT movement is absolutely against the will of God the Creator, who instituted marriage as a holy sacrament in Christ, and it is an absolute scandal that this occurred.”
Cardinal Müller said it was “undoubtedly” sacrilegious that a Belgian priest wore an “intersex-inclusive” pride flag while walking to the Holy Door, when Montagna asked him about it.
“Blessing these couples is also a sacrilege and is completely opposed to the Word of God and Catholic doctrine,” he added. “This ideology is not concerned with helping individuals who struggle with questions about their sexuality to live in conformity with the holy will of the Creator. Nor do its promoters care about eternal life or the salvation of souls. Rather, they promote an anti-Christian ideology that attacks the very concept of marriage and family — father, mother, and children—and stands as a counter-testimony against the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
On the drone show over the Vatican, Cardinal Müller stresses: ‘We must avoid any cult of personality’
In part two of the interview, published Sept. 23, Montagna noted that during a concert for the World Meeting on Human Fraternity, held in Rome, there was a drone show over St. Peter’s Basilica. During this drone show, one image created was of Pope Francis’ face, smiling.
Cardinal Müller said that the image evoked “the sense of being watched over by Big Brother.”
“They should let Pope Francis rest,” he continued. “As Christians we pray for the deceased, that their souls pass from Purgatory to Heaven. Even canonized saints are venerated for the glory of God, and not for their posthumous fame. We must avoid any cult of personality, which is a pagan attitude.”
He emphasized that “the Bishop of Rome is called to be the humble ‘Vicar of Christ,’ not the ‘Successor of Christ,’” and asked what message a projection of Pope Francis’ face rather than Christ’s face sends to the world.
“Such a display is wholly unfitting,” he said. “Even the image of holy popes should never be used in this manner, treating them like idols of a climate religion or of a humanitarian brotherhood stripped of God’s fatherhood and of His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, the only Redeemer of the world.”
Cardinal Müller commends Pope Leo’s pastoral approach in address to those at the World Meeting of Human Fraternity
The cardinal later noted that some of the support for the World Meeting of Human Fraternity comes from those who “want to reshape the Catholic Church and leverage the authority of the Holy See to advance their Masonic, Socialist, or Capitalist agendas. This is not true fraternity. Genuine fraternity cannot exist without the paternity of God.”
Commenting on Pope Leo’s address to the meeting’s participants, Cardinal Müller said he thinks the Pontiff’s approach was effectively pastoral through having foundations in natural theology and shared convictions and then guiding the listeners to God’s revelation.
“By concluding with a quotation from the Gospel of John, the Pope opens the horizon to the Father and to His Son Jesus, the Incarnate Word, even for those who have not yet embraced the Christian faith,” Cardinal Müller said. “The mutual love of this universal brotherhood is not the one-dimensional, horizontal, sentimental love promoted by Masons or Socialists, but the love flowing from the Triune God. This is the decisive distinction between believers in Christ and men of mere good will, and even more, those who seek to create a New World Order according to their ideology.”
Read the full texts of Part I and Part II on Montagna’s Substack.