excerpts from The Cardinal Muller Report

(excerpts from The Cardinal Müller Report:
An Exclusive Interview on the State of the Church)

A REPORT ON HOPE

• "in our dialogue with our very secularized world, we run the risk of presenting Christianity as being no more than a system of values, hiding its essence: hope in Him who has conquered pain, sin, and death" (p. 22).

I. WHAT CAN WE HOPE FOR FROM CHRIST?

• "Faced with such an aggressively secular world, ...we cannot be afraid to present ourselves as convinced and practicing Christians!" (p. 40)

II. WHAT CAN WE HOPE FOR FROM THE CHURCH?

• "the Church is the communion of all who believe in Jesus....a community based on faith, but she also has an institutional dimension.... she performs a teaching, governing, and sanctifying function" (p. 65)

III. WHAT CAN WE HOPE FOR FROM THE FAMILY?

• "The Family is...a stable union between a man and a woman that is open to life" (p. 140).
• "the purpose of marriage is not only natural but also supernatural" (p. 144)
• [re: Premarital counseling] "you have to tell them clearly that today, a family that does not pray stays together with difficulty" (p. 154).
• [re:indissolubilty] "This message is not an unbearable cross or yoke: it is good news for spouses, reminding them of the greatness and nobility of their vocation....when it is faithfully transmitted, it confers grace" (p. 156)

IV. WHAT CAN WE HOPE FOR FROM SOCIETY?

• "Our Western society is witnessing...new stories with contradictory messages about what makes life great and beautiful" (p. 176).
• "There is only one way to overcome it: by clearly affirming that our only hope is in Jesus    Christ" (p. 196).

V. CONCLUSION: THE KEY TO AN UNDERSTANDING OF MERCY

• "sacramental confession is the most paradigmatic expression of God's mercy" (p. 207).