| Styles of Gerhard Ludwig Müller |
|
|---|---|
| Reference style | The Most Reverend |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Bishop |
| Posthumous style | not applicable |
Gerhard Ludwig Müller (born 31 December 1947) has served as the Bishop of Regensburg since his appointment by Pope John Paul II on 1 October 2002.
Contents |
Müller was born in Finthen, a borough of Mainz. After graduating from the Willigis Episcopal High School in Mainz, Müller studied philosophy and theology in Mainz, Munich, and Freiburg. In 1977 he received his Doctor of Divinity under Karl Lehmann for his thesis on the Protestant theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
He was ordained a priest for the diocese of Mainz on 11 February 1978 just after his 30th birthday by Cardinal Hermann Volk.[1] After his ordination, he worked as a chaplain in three parishes.
In 1986 Müller received a call from the chair in dogmatic theology at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, where he is still an honorary professor.[2]
Pope John Paul II on 1 October 2002 appointed him bishop of Regensburg.[3] He was ordained on 24 November 2002 with Cardinal Friedrich Wetter serving as principal consecrator. Among the co-consecrators were Cardinal Karl Lehmann, Bishop Vinzenz Guggenberger, and Bishop Emeritus of Regensburg Manfred Müller. For his episcopal motto, Müller chose "Dominus Iesus" (Jesus is Lord, Romans 10:9).
On 20 December 2007, Müller was reappointed for another five years a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and on 17 January 2009 he became also a member of the Pontifical Council for Culture.[4] In Germany, Muller has a reputation as a defender of Catholic Orthodoxy.
In the German Bishops' Conference, Müller is Chairman of the Ecumenical Commission, Deputy Chairman of the Commission and member of Faith World Church of the Commission. He is also vice-chairman of the Association of Christian Churches in Germany and first president of the Society for the Promotion of Eastern Church Institute in Regensburg.
As a personal friend of Pope Benedict XVI, he has been charged with preparing the publication of the “Opera Omnia”: a series of books that will collect, in a single edition, all the writings of the current Pope.[5] Muller himself has was written more than 400 works on dogmatic theology, ecumenism, revelation, hermeneutics, the priesthood and the diaconate.
Muller was also a pupil of Gustavo Gutiérrez, the “father” of Latin-American liberation theology, with whom he has a long and close friendship. Commenting on Guitierrez, Muller stated: "The theology of Gustavo Gutiérrez, independently of how you look at it, is orthodox because it is orthopractic and it teaches us the correct way of acting in a Christian fashion since it comes from true faith." It is important to note that Gutiérrez’s thoughts were never censored by the Holy See although it was asked that he modify a few of his writings.[6]
While a professor, Müller was awarded the Grand Cross of Merit of the branch of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George]] headed by Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria.[7]
In September 2004, the Catholic University of Lublin awarded Müller an honorary doctorate, in recognition of his outstanding scientific and didactic activities. And on 24 September 2008 the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú awarded him another honorary doctorate in view of his scientific work.
The Bavarian Prime Minister Horst Seehofer gave him on 28 May 2009, the Federal Cross of Merit (First Class).
In September 2007, there were public allegations against Müller by the Neue Presse of Passau concerning his handling of the Peter Kramer sex abuse scandal.
In response to controversial reactions to comments by Archbishop Robert Zollitsch of Freiburg that, while clerical celibacy is a gift but not theologically necessary, but that it would be a "revolution" if the celibacy tradition within the Latin Rite Catholic Church were abandoned, Müller said: "The Second Vatican Council made clear in Article 16 of the "Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests" what the decisive requirements are," Müller said.
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Manfred Müller |
Bishop of Regensburg 1 October 2002 – present |
Succeeded by incumbent |