Scottish Catholic Observer

Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller’s visit to Scotland next month will be a homecoming of a kind for the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, appointed to the CDF by Pope Benedict XVI last July. Archbishop Müller says he has great affinity for this country and knows of its suffering.

“I want… Scotland to know that the Holy See, and the Holy Father, appreciates the great work done by so many good and faithful priests in Scotland and I want to encourage them not to be disheartened,” the archbishop told SCO editor Liz Leydon on Wednesday, ahead of his meeting with Scottish priests on June 14 and the Cardinal Winning Lecture on June 15 to launch the St Andrew’s Foundation for Catholic teacher education at Glasgow University.

SCO: We understand that you have visited Scotland in the past. Can you tell us something about your relationship with the Church here?

ARCHBISHOP Müller: Yes I have been to Scotland a number of times—and I have always very much enjoyed visiting your beautiful country. Before being moved to Rome, I was bishop of a small city in Barvaria called Regensburg which is twinned with Aberdeen and so I came to Aberdeen often. I am very much looking forward to visiting Scotland again, especially to meeting with the priests and people of Scotland after what has been a difficult few months for the Church here.

SCO: Your visit to Scotland next month coincides with the official launch of the St Andrew’s Foundation at Glasgow University formalising a home for Catholic teacher education. How did that come about?

AM: At the Synod of Bishops in Rome last year I met Archbishop Philip Tartaglia of Glasgow. I was very impressed by his intervention at the synod and so got talking to him, and he asked me if I would agree to come to Scotland to speak at the launch of the St Andrew’s Foundation.

SCO: Is Catholic education something you are very interested in?

AM: Yes, you see throughout my life I have always been involved in education, first as a secondary school teacher and then as Professor of Theology at the University of Munich. So religious education is very close to my heart. I believe passionately that the Church, through her integrated vision of the human person, can offer an approach to education based upon the core Christian values of justice, integrity, charity and so on, which is of great benefit to the whole of society. It is not sectarian because it is offered as a free choice and in a spirit of service to the whole community. Catholic education enriches society—as is clearly evident from the success and popularity of our Catholic schools.

SCO: What will your message be to the priests of Scotland when you meet them at Motherwell Cathedral?

AM: The purpose of meeting with the clergy is not so much to give a message but to have an opportunity to meet with them. I want the clergy in Scotland to know that the Holy See, and the Holy Father, appreciates the great work done by so many good and faithful priests in Scotland and I want to encourage them not to be disheartened. If I have a message for the priests of Scotland, it is this: do not listen to the voices of discouragement that often surround you—continue to faithfully give your lives to the Lord and allow His grace to do the rest.

SCO: You are coming to Scotland at what is a very difficult moment for the Church here. Can you offer any guidance or support to the clergy and lay Catholics in Scotland at this time?

AM: It is good to recall that in truth there is no period in history, no time, which is without difficulty. The important point is not that we are living in difficult times—but rather how we are going to respond to these difficulties. Remember, we are Christian—the very symbol of our Faith is the Cross! We know that there is no way to resurrection except through the Cross. In Scotland you have had a small Gethsemane experience—but I am confident that, if you remain Faithful to the Lord and His Church and do not run away from the Cross, you will experience the joy of Easter in a real renewal in the life of the Church very soon.

SCO: You took up your new role as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith last year, just before Pope Benedict XVI’s retirement. Are you expecting changes in your own work under Pope Francis?

AM: No. Changing the Pope is not like changing a prime minister. The mission of the Church remains the same—regardless of who is Pope. Each Pope has a different style, that is natural. But the Faith remains the same and the priorities remain the same. The doctrinal work of the CDF cannot and will not change.

— This interview ran in full in the May 31 print edition of the SCO