Battle in Vatican leaves Archbishop Müller routed by Cardinal Bertone

Secretary of State, Cardinal Bertone reprimands Archbishop Müller

(Lima) in the Andean country of Peru, there is a rebellious university, which Rome has deprived of the right to continue to call itself a "Catholic." The Archbishop who is responsible and nominal Chancellor of the academic institution withdrew from the entire faculty for the right to teach theology. After a heated session, which took place a few days ago in Rome, it has been laid down by the Holy See that the rebel university will continue without theologians. Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone was responsible for invitations to the meeting. The senior participants wished to thwart the intentions of the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,Curial Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller. He had tried to take the side of the Peruvian rebel party. A "gross error" from the protector of the faith, as it is said in Rome.

Several Dicasteries were invited to the meeting to consider a letter from Archbishop Müller to the Archbishop of Lima, Cardinal Juan Cipriani Thorne dated the end of January. In it the Prefect demanded an explanation of why the Peruvian Cardinal had revoked the church's permission to teach all the university professors of theology department. The disciplinary measures were notified to the university authorities in December after which the Holy See by decree of June 2012, deprived the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú of the right to continue to describe themselves as "Papal" and "Catholic".

University must not be no longer describe themselves as "Papal" and "Catholic" - entire faculty of theology deprived of teaching license.

The disciplinary measures which had the approval of Pope Benedict XVI, has lost none of its legal validity, since the university boards continue to refuse to reform the statutes and to conform to the the ecclesiastical provisions of the Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae for higher education institutions.

Although the Roman decree at the time of appointment of the Bishop of Regensburg to Rome had been adopted, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith becaome active after the rebellious professors had turned to complain to him. According to them, the withdrawal of permission to teach was made from "reasons of doctrine." Müller felt himself to be responsible for this matter and called on the Archbishop of Lima, despite his decision to allow the teaching regularly of theology. He justified this unusual step of saying that the Holy See had not yet decided the question.

Archbishop Müller's interference neither in Lima nor in the Vatican taken well
This interference of the new Prefect at the Congregation of the Faith was not taken well in Archbishop's Palace in Lima and not in the other departments in Rome. Therefore Secretary of State Cardinal Bertone called together the meeting at which the Müller 's letter was cancelled. It was done on the grounds that it had merely been a "personal" initiative by the Prefect, who had not even consulted his experts at the Congregation. 

Müller also did not also send the letter via the regular channels of the Apostolic Nunciature in Lima. The Archbishop of Lima, Cardinal Cipriani had instead simply just got a fax.  The letter had ignored canon law, according to the other Dicasteries, in which the competent diocesan bishop has the right to grant and revoke the teaching license.

The result of the meeting was immediately sent through diplomatic channels to Peru. It can be summarized as follows: The letter from Archbishop Mueller is null and void and the decision of Archbishop Cardinal Cipriani has undiminished validity.

Müller's letter null and void - "Hard hit" for the new tenant of the Holy Office
The former Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, whose acronym of PUCP has shrunk in UP has not enough teachers who are willing to teach at the university without ecclesiastical permission.

The outcome of the meeting chaired by Cardinal Bertone was a "serious blow" to the new head of the CDF, as Andrés Beltramo Álvarez for Vatican Insider wrote. It is questioned in the Roman Curia whether the "new German" in Rome "is really the right man for such a central post, which demands maximum discipline demands and allows neither for improvisation nor for formal or editorial errors".

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Comments

Geremia said…
Are real theologians flocking to this university now?