Dissident theologians defeat Bishop of Regensburg

Theologians do not need to take an oath

In the conflict with three Catholic theology professors who signed a declaration critical of the Pope, the Regensburg Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Mueller has relented: Professors Sabine Demel, Burkhard Porzelt and Heinz-Günter Schöttler no longer need to appear before the bishop to make a profession of Faith and take an oath of loyalty. They do not need to dissociate themselves from the statement madeprotesting against the lifting of the excommunication of the four bishops of the traditionalist SSPX Brotherhood protests and expressed concern that Pope Benedict XVI was giving groups a place in the church who reject the Second Vatican Council. From the perspective of the professors had Müllers the Pope assumed that he wanted to harm the church. On Friday, Bishop Mueller and the leadership of the Catholic theological faculty had crisis talks. In a joint statement as now stated, the professors rejected "an interpretation of the petition, which would imply that the Pope lacked personal and Magisterial integrity "- and in addition, they stressed "their obvious loyalty to the Church's Magisterium". The three professors said that they had stated to Bishop Mueller in a letter that t they "from our theological conviction as well as our loyalty to the Church's Magisterium " remains "fully committed to the contents of this petition". They were "ready to clarify in dialogue with the Bishop of Regensburg our concern for the Church “

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