The mass exodus from the Catholic Church in Austria has been
particularly strong in Salzburg, which saw a dramatic increase in people
terminating their membership in 2010.
In 2009 in Salzburg 4,441
people officially left the Catholic Church.
This figure grew by 61 per
cent in 2010, as 7,163 people distanced themselves from the Church.
Ernst
Pöttler, a priest from Itzling said: "Each person that turns away from
the Church is one person too many. The Church needs to find a new
direction. I feel that everyone is too preoccupied with Rome and are
afraid of the pope, rather than listening to people and taking them
seriously."
The Church in Itzling lost 90 members of its
congregation in 2010, significantly more than in 2009.
"With a few
people I was able to discuss possible options, others just quit" said
Pöttler.
Most people leaving the Church have not lost their
religious faith, but simply want nothing more to do with the Church,
because they have lost connection with it.
Pöttler, who is a well
known figure in the local community and enjoys a good reputation, said
that the Church is not facing any financial consequences at this stage,
but in the future some employees may no longer be able to stay in their
positions: "If it comes down to it I shall have to face that too. In the
end we are the ones who pay for it."
Junior priest Christoph
Schobesberger explained how the Church is planning to tackle the large
amount of deserters: "We are going to look at the statistics in detail,
analyse the age of the people and see where the problem is most acute."
SIC: ST/EU-INT'L