German Cardinal Gerhard Müller visited the home and family of Mark Houck, a pro-life father of seven who was arrested on Sept. 23 by several FBI agents in the early hours of the morning. 

In a video posted on YouTube Oct. 12, the cardinal is seen on the front porch of the Houck family home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where the 48-year-old had been taken into custody at gunpoint in front of his terrified wife and children.

Cardinal Müller then made a statement condemning the arrest of Houck, whom he called “a peaceful father defending his son, defending the right of life of the babies.” 

“Persecution of the good people is always a sign of the beginning of dictatorship and tyranny,” Cardinal Müller said in the video posted by the pro-life outlet iFamNews. 

“But the United States has always had the leadership for democracy, and democracy doesn’t work when there is no respect of basic rights of life and personal integrity of your body and your liberty,” the cardinal continued. “We are citizens of the states and not serfs of some ideological leaders.”

“This is not acceptable, and this is a scandal. They are making America ridiculous in the eyes of society,“ he said.

Cardinal Müller compared the actions of the FBI to the “Chinese Communist police” and questioned, “How could it happen in a democratic state where natural law is the basis of the decisions of the American nation?"

“Therefore, as a Catholic bishop and Roman Catholic cardinal, I condemn these actions against non-armed families, against children; it’s threatening for children, terrorizing them,” he said. “There is no reason and no justification for this brutal action against these peaceful families.” 

Cardinal Müller questioned how Western nations can speak out against Putin’s war in Ukraine “when we are doing the same things that are threatening the children. How is this possible?”

“I hope that the American government will apologize for this brutal act against humanity,” he said. 

“Amen,” Mark Houck responded. 

Cardinal Müller is seen in the video giving Houck, his wife and his children a blessing.

Speaking briefly, Mark Houck said that when the FBI showed up at his house in full force to arrest him, his only desire was to protect his children. 

“Do whatever you want to me, but don’t hurt them,” Houck said. He added that his children are “the real victims in all of this.”

“But we claim victory in Christ. We claim victory in Jesus,” he said. 

“Thank you for bringing Cardinal Müller to be with us today, to bless our family, to declare that this was wrong and that this is evil, and that we have his full support,” Houck said in the video. 

Houck has pleaded not guilty to two alleged violations of the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. A trial date is set for Jan. 24 in Philadelphia.

Cardinal Müller, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has voiced criticism of the Synodal Way in Germany. On Oct. 6 he appeared on EWTN’s The World Over with Raymond Arroyo and spoke about the Church’s Synod on Synodality.