Cardinal Meisner, one of the Dubia Cardinals, passes on while still awaiting Francis' response.

by  Jonathan Ekene Ifeanyi        

 

Late Cardinal Meisner

Joachim Cardinal Meisner, one of the four cardinals who sent the dubia to Francis I asking for clarity on his scandalous Amoris Laetitia, died today at the age of 83 while still awaiting the clarification from Francis.

           

Gerhard Müller, Francis’ former “Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith” who has just been sacked by him, has revealed in a new 5 July interview that he spoke with Cardinal Meisner the night before he died. Maike Hickson of OnePeterFive quotes the Passauer Neue Presse as reporting that:

“Müller had spoken over the phone with the former Archbishop of Cologne [Cardinal Meisner] the previous night [before he died the next morning]; and they also had spoken about the non-renewal of his former position. Meisner had shown himself to be “deeply saddened” by this dismissal. “That moved him personally and wounded him – and he considered it to be a form of damage for the Church,” as the Curial Cardinal [Müller] himself described the reaction of Meisner.”

Müller also commented and sharply criticized in this new interview, reports Maike Hickson, the conduct of Francis with regard to his dismissal from the CDF. According to the Passauer Neue Presse:

“In the interview with the PNP [Passauer Neue Presse], he explained that Pope Francis “communicated his decision” not to renew his term “within one minute” on the last work day of his five-year-term as Prefect of the Congregation for the Faith. Additionally, he [Müller] was not given any reasons for it. “This style [sic] I cannot accept,” as Müller stressed, clearly distancing himself from the procedure of the pope. In dealing with employees, also in Rome “the Church’s social teaching should be applied.””

Raymond Cardinal Burke told the National Catholic Register that Meisner “inspired me deeply by his profound love of Christ and of His Mystical Body, the Church. He spared no effort in showing that love clearly and courageously in practice. May he be granted the reward of the good and faithful servant. May he rest in peace.”

   

It should be noted that a lot of good people—defenders of the Faith—have been dying since Francis’ emergence. Fr. Nicholas Gruner, Our Lady’s Loyal Ambassador, died in 2015; the great Italian Cardinal, Giacomo Biffi, died in July 2015; Fr. Gabriel Amorth, the world’s most famous exorcist who told Fr. Gruner in March 2015 that “unless the consecration of Russia is done—as Our Lady asked—by the end of October, 2015, the dark prophecies of Fatima may well come to pass any day after that.”, died in September, 2016; Mr. John Vennari, Fr. Gruner’s co-worker, died in April this year—just to name those I can easily remember.

Cardinal Meisner died sitting and praying his breviary, in preparation for the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass. He held a doctorate in theology and was a member of the Council of Cardinals for the Study of Organizational and Economic Affairs of the Holy See. He was the Archbishop "Emeritus" of Cologne, and defended Catholic doctrine for many years before signing onto the dubia. May his soul rest in peace.

Related: “Only a blind man can deny that there is a great confusion in the Church”—Carlo Cardinal Caffarra.