According to Cardinal Schönborn’s spokesman, the Vatican did not ask for measures to be taken against dissident Austrian priests. Stangl says theological reflection is needed.
Austrian bishops received no diktat from the Vatican ordering them to intervene against priests who form part of the Pfarrer Initiative.
Confirmation of this was given to Vatican Insider by Michael Prüller, spokesman to the Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn.
Confirmation of this was given to Vatican Insider by Michael Prüller, spokesman to the Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn.
Reports about the “explosive” letter which asked for “something to be done” against Austrian parish priests who launched an “Appeal to Disobedience” which Pope Benedict XVI openly discussed in his Holy Thursday homily, appeared on Austrian Catholic website Kath.net on Holy Saturday.
According to Prüller, the letter sent in recent weeks by the Holy See mentioned nothing new about the meeting held with Austrian bishops in the Vatican, last January, on the question of “rebel” priests - which Vatican Insider reported on at the time.
“It contains no directive on how the Pfarrer Initiative should be dealt with,” Schönborn’s spokesman explained. “It reiterates the importance of the fact that there can be no appeal to disobedience,” as was stressed right from the beginning by Schönborn himself and on Good Friday, in an interview broadcast on Austrian television.
Nevertheless, the cardinal’s spokesman said, the fact that Benedict XVI spoke so directly about the Pfarrer Initiative “highlights the need for this “appeal” to be dealt with” and “how important this whole affair is to the Pope and the Vatican.” According to Prüller, the Pope’s homily is “carefully thought-out” and is not intended as a “condemnation”: “Benedict XVI reflects on what real obedience is and how this helps clarify what God’s will is.”
The Archbishop of Vienna’s spokesman also referred to the affair involving Florian Stangl, the 26 year-old living in a registered same-sex relationship, who was elected to the pastoral council of a parish north of Vienna. Cardinal Schönborn, a former student of Pope Benedict XVI, in the days when the latter was a theology professor, took the shock decision not to veto the young man’s election to the post.
“The question is legally closed but there could be repercussions from a theological point of view,” Prüller said, who did not fail to hide his amazement at the accusations made against the Archbishop of Vienna, about him wishing to go against Catholic doctrine.
“The cardinal, who took part in the creation of the Catholic Church catechism, clearly stated that he does not wish to change or question the Church’s position on same-sex relations or on same-sex marriage,” the spokesman explained.
“The question he is asking himself – the spokesman went on to say – which requires some reflection, is how to act towards those who live a life that is objectively contrary to Catholic doctrine. How can they, as Christians and baptised individuals, take part in the Catholic Church’s mission? Can they take on roles in pastoral councils? Canon law mentions nothing about this. And the question is not only valid for same-sex couples, but also for remarried divorcees and young couples who live together before getting married, for example.”
According to Austrian media, the parish priest of the parish that is at the centre of the controversy, Gerhard Swierzek, allegedly asked for a transferral. Prüller is unable to approve the priest’s request but stressed that cardinal Schönborn did not influence Swierzek’s decision: “the parish priest consulted him about the election. At first the cardinal intended to veto the election but since it was not even clear whether he had the power to do so, he finally chose not to.”