Controversial general secretary of the Austrian Conference of Bishops Ägidius Zsifkovics will be consecrated new bishop of the Eisenstadt diocese in September, it has been announced.Roman Catholic Church officials said that the ceremony will take place at the Cathedral in Eisenstadt on 25 September.
Vienna archbishop Cardinal Christoph Schönborn will hold the ceremony together with Zagreb Archbishop Josip Bozanic and incumbent Paul Iby.
Iby declared his wish to resign earlier this year in a letter to Pope Benedict XVI, pointing out that he wanted to stay until November when the diocese of Eisenstadt celebrates its 50th anniversary.
The Vatican however denied his wish and the Austrian Catholic Church presented Zsifkovics – who is a member of Croat minority in province of Burgenland – as his successor last week.
Iby reportedly angered conservative colleagues by calling for more open-minded debates about delicate issues such as the mandatory celibacy rule for Roman Catholic priests earlier this year.
Research agency GfK Austria said recently eight in 10 Austrian Catholic priests supported calls for an abandonment of the ruling.
Zsifkovics, who also heads parish of Wulkaprodersdorf, is linked to ultra-conservative circles in the Church. His nomination sparked anger among Church-critical groups and commentators.
Theologian Paul Zulehner said he was "disappointed" to hear of the decision. "I don’t think he will be accepted by a majority of believers," he said. Zulehner added: "This decision is a missed chance."
Zsifkovics meanwhile appealed to his critics to give him a "fair chance".
"Wir sind Kirche" (We are the Church), an independent initiative, claimed the Catholic Church ignored "several more capable candidates". Its head Hans Peter Hurka said he expected this decision to further increase the already soaring "departure figures".
More than 30,000 Austrians left the Church in the first three months of this year, up by 42 per cent compared to the same time span of 2009.
SIC: AI