[Updated] The Cardinal of Vienna, like the battery bunny, just keeps going, and going, and going...
From Die Presse:Archdiocese confirms homosexual parish council member
The 26-year-old who lives in a registered homosexual partnership, may now belong to a parish council in the Weinviertel [region].
The Archdiocese of Vienna confirmed on Friday the election of a 26-year-old homosexual council member in the Stützenhofen municipality of the Weinviertel [region, north of Vienna]. The case had triggered a heated debate. Florian Stangl, who lives in a registered partnership, had been elected in mid-March, and, although chosen by a large majority of the population,had been rejected by the local priest because of his way of life. The diocese has specifically approved the first such case. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn also met Stangl and his partner.
From the Archdiocesan website:
Press Statement by Archbishop Christoph Cardinal Schönborn on the problems of the parish council elections in Stützenhofen
I thank all the people who have put forth their candidacy in the parish council elections, they are the church and faith is a big concern [for them]. They witness the vitality of the Church. In their diversity, they reflect the diversity of today's way of life and faith. ...
In the personal conversation I had with Mr. Stangl, I was impressed with his pious atitude, his humility and his firm willingness to serve. ... [Update: Read full statement here.]
Father Gerhard Swierzek, who had blocked the young man's presence in the Council, also asked Stangl not to receive Holy Communion (Catholic Culture, which mentioned that the Archdiocese had backed the priest - not at that time, and certainly not now... Perhaps because the sin is not "manifest"?...)(Tip: Secretum meum mihi)
