date: 20.11.2007.
Thomas Mueller, member of Totus Tuus, licensed chemist and theologian, won an award from the University of Koblenz for his thesis “25 years of Medjugorje - a theological-church-legal evaluation in the light of the sense of faith“.
From the Laudatio by Professor Dr. Joachim Schmiedlisch
It is quite unusual for a licensed chemist to choose to study catholic theology. It is more unusual still that his thesis should treat of the phenomenon of the apparitions of Mary in Medjugorje. Thomas Mueller’s life story led him to choose this particular topic. His intention was not to prove the authenticity of the apparitions - of which he is personally convinced - but to show how the Catholic Church is handling these unusual phenomena. Mueller contrasts dogmatic questions with questions of Church law. The Magisterium of the Church, which preserves Tradition, is completed by the sense of faith of God’s people. In this sense, Mueller presents very progressive theses. He calls for the creation of institutions within the Catholic Church, which would develop legal conditions for the advancement of religious practice. With proposals such as this, Thomas Mueller is moving onto contentious ground, where not everyone will be able to follow him, but his call for the creation of a legal basis for the various charismatic expressions of Christian life deserves further consideration.
The particular achievement of Thomas Mueller’s thesis consists of the fact that, using the example of the apparitions of Mary in Medjugorje - still the object of debate both inside and outside the Church - he has worked out and suggested institutional solutions for the still tense relationship between Church authority, charismatic gifts and the everyday religious practice of Christians. (http://www.totus-tuus.de/wordpress)
