Müller: A Catholic in Danger of Death May Ask a Protestant "Cleric" for Assistance

A Catholic in mortal danger can ask a Protestant "cleric" for assistance through God's word, prayer and blessing, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller told Kath.net (4 January).

In reality, Protestant pastors are and see themselves as laymen and therefore cannot assist a dying person any better than any other layman, with Protestants additionally not believing in the imparting of blessings.

Müller went on claiming that non-Catholic Christians may receive Communion in case of mortal danger or if they "recognise the Catholic belief in the Eucharist (sacrificial character, transformation of essence)."

Again, "believing in the Eucharist" is not enough for receiving Communion. Confession is also required, in the course of which a Protestant would have to renounce Protestantism.

Interestingly, Müller criticised the Synodal Way for wanting to impose on the faithful decisions contrary to the faith. This, he said, was in conflict with the Church's constitution and was "null and void" because "the disciplinary power of bishops must never serve to enforce heretical teachings or immoral actions."

According to Müller, the participants of the synod suffer from an "anti-Catholic resentment". He said that concerned people from all over the world ask him about the Synodal Way: "The matter is already so muddled and the fronts are so hardened that it is difficult to imagine a way out."

Picture: © Mazur, CC BY-NC-SA, #newsYcbmokugrj

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Cuthbert Mayne

Jan 5, 2021

When I was a junior doctor at a small rural hospital I admitted an elderly Russian orthodox priest with terminal colon cancer. The tarry digested bloody stool he passed in copious quantities was foul, and was making his life ebb away. I told him to prepare for death, and asked if I can call a priest for him. But he told me that he was the only Russian orthodox priest in the area. He then gripped my hand and said firmly, “Doctor, please get me the Catholic priest, not the Protestant one”. I wasn’t about to call Charlotte, our Church of England hospital chaplain, who usually sat in the chaplaincy room and cried together with patient’s relatives, despite her empathy, I knew she wouldn’t do. So I called the local parish priest, who attended promptly, with viaticum. Later that evening when I checked on my patient, I found him peacefully dead, with his eyes closed and a smile hidden under his beard. Amazingly, that foul smell of malena surrounding his bed had gone too.

rhemes1582

Jan 6, 2021

Excellent!

P. O'B

Jan 5, 2021

In danger of death I would accept the Bible reading and the prayer, but not the blessing of a Protestant minister. What effective blessing does he have to give? And I want sacraments at that time. I received the Last Rites very recently, and it was very consoling, leaving me with great hope. I knew where I stood with Our Lord, as much as can be known this side of Judgment. With a minister's reading …More

rhemes1582

Jan 5, 2021

Assistance for what?

Cuthbert Mayne

Jan 5, 2021

In case in death, bowels opened, and one’s faeces had to be cleaned

Ultraviolet

Jan 4, 2021

A modest correction. @stjoseph2 Calling these "Novus Ordo techings" implies they are somehow STILL valid for the Catholic Church. They're not even "Novus Ordo". For example, the Sacraments performed in the Novus Ordo Church are still valid Catholic Sacraments. This is not valid at all. Canon Law is explicit. Heretics are thus outside the Catholic Church entirely. Asking a Protestant is no different …More