Vienna Archbishop Christoph Cardinal Schönborn said today (Mon) he shared the concern of Eisenstadt Bishop Paul Ibys concern about mandatory celibacy for Roman Catholic priests.”The concern that Bishop Iby expressed is shared by all of us (Austrian bishops), and I am happy to be in a Church in which there is freedom of speech and […]
Tag: Church
More Austrians than ever in history are expected to leave the Catholic Church this year.Official figures from today (Thurs) show that 30,004 people left the Church in the first three months of this year, up by 42 per cent compared to the same time span of 2009 when more people than ever cancelled their membership.These […]
A top lawyer has accused the Catholic Church of focusing on damage limitation instead of trying to help the hundreds of victims of abuse at the Churchs institutions.Around 700 people got in touch with psychologists via new and existing hotlines to report their sex and violence abuse ordeals when serving as altar boys, choristers and […]
The Greens have called for a 100-million-Euro victims fund for people suffering abuse at Catholic institutions.The partys juridical issues spokesman Albert Steinhauser said yesterday (Mon) 100 million Euros should be the first benchmark before discussing further action.Steinhauser accused the government coalition formed by the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the Peoples Party (ÖVP) of […]
Dozens of cops and firemen were kept busy by an odd performance from an artist protesting against sex abuse by Catholic Church clergy in Vienna today (Fri).Hundreds of passersby and tourists gathered at the square in front of St Stephens Cathedral (Stephansdom) one of the citys main tourist attractions when at 10am this […]
Majority says Pope should resign
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A vast majority of Austrians think the Pope should step down were there a rule that enabled him to do so.Vienna-based public opinion research agency Karmasin found that 57 per cent of Austrians are of the opinion Pope Benedict XVI should resign amid sex abuse incidents at Catholic institutions across Europe.Only 34 per cent of […]
Vienna Archbishop Christoph Cardinal Schönborn will preside at a “day of repentance” service today (Weds) in the wake of revelations of numerous cases of violence and sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy.His office said yesterday that the service at 7pm at Viennas St. Stephens Cathedral would constitute “an acknowledgement of guilt in the […]
Christoph Cardinal Schönborns announcement that Waltraud Klasnic will head a commission dealing with victims of Catholic Church abuse and violence has been met with harsh criticism.Schönborn said in a TV interview on Sunday that the former Styrian Peoples Party (ÖVP) governor will head a special commission checking on all claims and reports of sexual abuse […]
There have been 566 reports of various kinds of abuse by clergy at the Catholic Churchs ombudsmans offices this year, it was reported today (Tues).Vienna archdiocese has had the highest number, 174, followed by Innsbruck diocese with 115. More than half of them can no longer be prosecuted because of the statute of limitations.Cases of […]
A commission to investigate claims of sexual abuse within the Catholic church has named former Styrian Peoples Party (ÖVP) Governor Waltraud Klasnic as its head.Viennese archbishop Christoph Cardinal Schönborn told national broadcaster ORF yesterday (Sun) he will meet Klasnic to discuss details next week.Schönborn stressed that the commission will act totally independently to clarify as […]