Cardinal Brandmüller: « les défenseurs du changement de l’enseignement catholique sur le mariage sont hérétiques, même s’ils sont évêques »

Dans le combat contre la prévarication familiale, on doit noter une nouvelle prise de position: celle du cardinal Brandmüller. Il s’était déjà exprimé dans l’ouvrage collectif Demeurer dans la vérité du Christ , qui répond aux errances formulées par le cardinal Kasper. Dans un entretien accordé au site Lifesitenews.com , le cardinal affirme clairement que « les partisans du changement de l’enseignement catholique sur le mariage sont hérétiques, même s’ils sont évêques ». Il précise même que celui qui défend de telles positions est hérétique, « même s’il porte la pourpre romaine » . À bon entendeur…

L’entretien n’a toujours pas été traduit. Nous vous présentons un extrait (en anglais) de cet entretien daté du 15 avril 2015: les premières réponses sont assez explicites.

Could you present once more for our readers clearly the teaching of the Catholic Church, as it has been consistently taught throughout centuries concerning marriage and its indissolubility?

The answer is to be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 1638-1642.

Can the Church admit remarried couples to Holy Communion, even though their second marriage is not valid in the eyes of the Church?

That would be possible if the concerned couples would make the decision to live in the future like brother and sister. This solution is especially worth considering when the care for children disallows a separation. The decision for such a path would be a convincing expression of the penance for the previous and protracted act of adultery.

Can the Church deal with the topic of marriage in a pastoral manner that is different from the continual teaching of the Church? Can the Church at all change the teaching itself without falling herself into heresy?

It is evident that the pastoral practice of the Church cannot stand in opposition to the binding doctrine nor simply ignore it. In the same manner, an architect could perhaps build a most beautiful bridge. However, if he does not pay attention to the laws of structural engineering, he risks the collapse of his construction. In the same manner, every pastoral practice has to follow the Word of God if it does not want to fail. A change of the teaching, of the dogma, is unthinkable. Who nevertheless consciously does it, or insistently demands it, is a heretic – even if he wears the Roman Purple.