Gerhard Ludwig Müller (pronounced [ˈɡeːɐ̯haʁt ˈluːtvɪç ˈmʏlɐ]; born 31 December 1947) is a German Catholic prelate who served as the Cardinal-Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 until 2017.

In 1986, Müller was appointed to the chair of dogmatic theology of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, where he remains an honorary professor.

Gerhard Ludwig Müller elected "Dominus Iesus" ("Jesus is Lord") as his episcopal motto, which is derived from Romans 10:9.

[3] On 20 December 2007, Pope Benedict XVI reappointed Müller for another five years as a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF).

[7] On 2 July 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Müller to a five-year term as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and made him an archbishop as well.

[9] Müller said he hoped to halt the "growing polarization between traditionalists and progressives [which] is threatening the unity of the Church and generating strong tensions among its members".

In an interview published on 1 February 2015, Müller objected to the criticism of the church for its mishandling of clerical sexual abuse cases and for its continued condemnation of contraception, same-sex marriage, and declared incapacity to ordain women.

He said "Targeted discreditation campaigns against the Catholic Church in North America and also here in Europe have led to clerics in some areas being insulted in public.

What Pope Benedict XVI had described as "the hermeneutic of reform, of renewal in continuity" is, for Müller, the "only possible interpretation according to the principles of Catholic theology.

"[22] Later that month a report commissioned by the Diocese of Regensburg sharply criticized Müller's handling while bishop there of cases of sexual abuse by priests.

"[29] However, in a second interview, Müller was asked whether the teaching reaffirmed in Familiaris consortio of Pope John Paul II, which linked the Eucharist to marriage, remains valid.

Pope John Paul II stated that the divorced and civilly remarried were proscribed from the reception of Holy Communion, except possibly when they determine to live "in complete continence".

In an interview with Die Tagespost, he claimed that placing "lived realities" on the same level as scripture and tradition is "nothing more than the introduction of subjectivism and arbitrariness, wrapped up in sentimental and smug religious terminology."

But during a visit to Peru in 1988, then-professor Müller discussed it with his friend and teacher Gustavo Gutiérrez, regarded as the "father" of Latin American liberation theology, who convinced him of its orthodoxy.

Müller explained that liberation theology focused on orthopraxis, "the correct way of acting in a Christian fashion since it comes from true faith,"[6] congruent with the Gospel for the Poor, i. e., "for those on the periphery", to borrow the terminology that Pope Francis has repeatedly used.

Müller has criticised the letter as "harsh" and contrasted the efforts of the Pope to curtail traditionalist Catholics with his response to the German Synodal Path writing, "Instead of appreciating the smell of the sheep, the shepherd here hits them hard with his crook."

Müller was also critical of the elements of the document that seek to ascertain the assent of traditionalist Catholics to the legitimacy of the Second Vatican Council, despite the fact that many teachings of the Council are "being heretically denied in open contradiction to Vatican II by a majority of [non-traditionalist] German bishops and lay functionaries (even if disguised under pastoral phrases).

[46] On 27 October 2023 Müller wrote an opinion piece on the ecumenical religious journal First Things, stating that "to teach contrary to the apostolic faith would automatically deprive the pope of his office", quoting the 16th-century Cardinal Robert Bellarmine in support and arguing that "We must all pray and work courageously to spare the Church such an ordeal".

In the same interview, he also accused Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, recently appointed head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, of material heresy.

One section appeared to repudiate Pope Francis's effort to open, in some cases, communion to divorced and remarried Catholics.

[52] In 2016, a commission of 12 members was instituted to address the history of abuse and its cover-up in the boys' choir, a move critics viewed as long overdue.