Una Voce Austria -- Upcoming Book Launch, Lecture, and Panel Discussion with Dr. Peter Kwasniewski

An announcement for our readers in Austria and central Europe about an upcoming event sponsored by Una Voce Austria on Passion Sunday, April 2, 2017, for the launch of the German translation of Resurgent in the Midst of Crisis. The lectures will be in German, but the panel discussion in English.

Die heilige Liturgie, die traditionelle lateinische Messe und die Erneuerung in der Kirche

Buchpräsentation am Sonntag, den 2. April, um 14:00 im Pfarrsaal der Rektoratskirche St. Karl, Kreuzherrengasse 1/1. Stock, Wien IV.

Solemn High Mass for the Feast of St. Stephen of Hungary in Vienna

Una Voce Austria arranged a Solemn High Mass for the Feast of King St. Stephen of Hungary at the Karlskirche in Vienna. The celebrant was the Rev. Fr. Marc Hausmann, a priest of the diocese of St. Pölten and professor of metaphysics at the Pontifical University Urbaniana in Rome.

Das ist sehr cool!

Saint Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom), Vienna

[Tip: pius.info]

CDF demands explanation from Cardinal of Vienna

Austrian daily Der Standard reports that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has asked the Cardinal of Vienna to explain himself regarding his decision to reverse the prior decision of Father Gerhard Swierzek, parish priest in Stützenhofen, who had blocked the presence of a young man living in a registered homosexual "union" as a member of the local Parish Council (see the first and second posts on the matter):

Der Standard has learned from well-informed Vatican sources that the Archbishop of Vienna was invited by letter to explain his position [on this matter]. In case of non-response, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will call up the Cardinal in his next visit to Rome.

Right. As a member of the full Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith himself, the Cardinal must be extremely fearful...

[Tip: Secretum meum mihi]

The Easter Bunny is Catholic. Here's proof.

From a "Family Mass" on Easter Sunday in the Hartberg Catholic Parish of the Diocese of Graz-Seckau in Austria:

 

H/t Catholic Church Conservation


This parish has a Youtube channel with more videos of its liturgical abuses (such as the Preaching Tomcat.)

Austria, Ireland... His Holiness is moving.

Following the Holy Father's strong words during Chrism Mass against the rebel priests of the Pfarrer-Initiative in Austria (words that have been accompanied by strong secret letters ordering the Austrian episcopate and its leader, the incredible Cardinal of Vienna, to take real charge of the matter), now the most outspoken and influential rebel-priest in Ireland is also on the receiving end of Roman orders. Not only is he under investigation, as we first reported on April 7, he has in effect been silenced during this same investigation:

Just days before Easter, Flannery, a prolific and longtime columnist for the Redemptorist Order’s monthly magazine, Reality, was told he can no longer write on any of the church-doctrine issues. ... Reality editor Gerard Moloney has also been reprimanded for allowing Flannery’s prose to make it into print. Future editions of the magazine will now have to be reviewed by a Vatican-approved theologian. In the meantime, Flannery has reportedly been sent to a monastery for six weeks of prayer and contemplation.

[From the Daily Beast, and several secular sources.]

We wish Fr. Flannery weeks, months, and years of silent contemplation - very contemplative and, especially, very silent!

Full Statement of the Cardinal of ViennaDiocesan Leadership Confirms Election Results in Stützenhofen

[For background, see previous post: The crisis of the Church is a crisis of Bishops - The Vienna Chronicles: another priest thrown under the bus. Thanks to our reader-translator, who added his own relevant note in the end.]

Press statement of Archbishop Christoph Cardinal Schönborn on the parish council elections in Stützenhofen.

I thank the many candidates for the parish council elections. By their candidacy they showed their concern for the Church and the Faith. Thus they witness to the vitality of the Church. In their diversity they reflect the diversity of the life and faith journeys of today. Thus there are many parish councilors whose lifestyle  does not in every way conform to the ideals of the Church. In view of the life-witness that each of them gives taken as a whole, and their commitment to the attempt to live a life of faith, the Church rejoices in their efforts. She does not thereby call the validity of her ideals into question.

In the small community of Stützenhofen, which I hold in great esteem, there is lively participation in Church life even in the younger generation. A sign of this is the high turnout the parish council elections. The formal errors which have come to light in that election do not call the results of the election itself (in which the youngest candidate, Florian Stangl, received the most votes) into question.

I was able to have a personal conversation with Herr Stangl, and was deeply impressed by his faithful disposition, his humility, and the way in which he lives his commitment to service. I can therefore understand why the inhabitants of Stützenhofen voted so decidedly for his participation in the parish council.

Today in the bishop’s council [Bischofsrat] we discussed the complex Stützenhofen case, and unanimously decided on the following decisions:

1. The diocesan leadership does not challenge the validity of the election and its results.

2. The bishop’s council mandates a revision of the rules for parish council elections in order to clarify the pre-requisites for candidacy in the context of continuing deliberation about the nature and purpose of parish councils.

Translator's note: candidates for parish councils in the Archdiocese of Vienna can be nominated by any Catholic before the election. The nominations are supposed to enclose a signed statement by the candidates in which they affirm that they fulfill the conditions for the office (including crucially the condition that they adhere to the faith and discipline of the Church - “sich zur Glaubenslehre und Ordnung der Kirche bekennen”). At the election voters mark as many names on the candidate list as there are places to be taken in the council; the candidates with the most votes are elected. In Stützenhofen the candidates neglected to sign statements affirming that they fulfilled the conditions for election. Herr Stangl, the candidate with the most votes, lives in a civil-partnership with his homosexual lover. An initial statement of the Archdiocese said that “in principle” persons who live in such unions are not allowed to serve on parish councils, but that the Archdiocese was examining the particularities of the case in question. In an interview Herr Stangl said “I feel committed to the teachings of the Church. But the demand to live chastely seems kind of unrealistic to me (Forderungen nach Keuschheit zu stellen, ist aber relativ fern von der Lebensrealität). How many people really live chastely?”

As we had said in 2009: "The Cardinal of Vienna: a man who is tough when it counts."

The crisis of the Church is a crisis of Bishops The Vienna Chronicles: another priest thrown under the bus

[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)

Cardinal Schonborn and Medjugorje: the Umpteenth Chapter (UPDATED)

In a repeat of last year's scandal, a 'seer' of Medjugorje has been invited once more to the Stephansdom of Vienna to give his 'testimony'. The whole-evening event (which will be live-streamed on the Internet) will culminate in a live 'apparition' followed by a Mass celebrated by Christoph Cardinal Schonborn. This event is in line with Schonborn's repeated gestures of support for this strange phenomenon, which is supposedly under investigation by the "Ruini Commission".

Unraveling

After the Pfarrer-Initiative (300 Austrian priests and counting) in favor of all that is wrong, lukewarmly condemned by the Cardinal of Vienna (who took the very strong and decisive measure of declaring: "I'm shocked!"), 157 American priests (and counting) support Maryknoll priest-activist Roy Bourgeois. From "Call to Action":

In an unprecedented move, 157 Catholic priests have signed on to a letter in support of their fellow embattled priest, Fr. Roy Bourgeois, who has been told to recant his support for women’s ordination or be removed from the priesthood. The letter that supports Roy’s priesthood and his right to conscience was delivered, Friday, July 22nd, to Fr. Edward Dougherty, Superior General of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers in Maryknoll, NY.

“We can no longer remain silent while priests and even bishops are removed from their posts

simply because they choose to speak their truth,” said Fr. Fred Daley, a spokesperson of the effort and a priest of the Syracuse Diocese. “Together, we are standing up for our brother priest, Roy, and for all clergy who have felt afraid to speak up on matters of conscience.

“We hope that our support as ordained priests in good standing will help give Fr. Dougherty the support he needs to make a decision that is fair and just.”

[Tip: Catholic Culture; picture: excommunicated-laywoman and priest-impersonator Janice Sevre-Duszynska, at whose pseudo-ordination Bourgeois was present -  image source.]

June: time for the "Vienna Western Mass"

UPDATE June 17, 2011: THE "WESTERN MASS" FOR THIS YEAR HAS BEEN CANCELLED! (Sources: Kreuz.net and www.stop-western-mass.com)

Originally posted on June 14, 2011 at 09:48 AM (GMT):

This seems like a lost cause - as everything related to the Cardinal of Vienna -, but, since we were sent it, we cannot deny our support:

Please help us to defeat a sacrilegious Western Mass.

This annual event will be celebrated on coming June 26th, by the rector of Vienna cathedral, Fr Anton Faber, for the fourth time.

Most of the participants at this Mass are sitting at beer benches. While Fr Faber offers the sacrifice of Calvary, they are smoking, drinking and eating. From the beer benches they proceed to receive Holy Communion.

This video shows you the Western Mass of last year: http://en.gloria.tv/?media=164417

This year, Gloria.tv Austria has contacted the archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, through both, his spokesman and his secretary. We have urged the Cardinal to stop these liturgical abuses and to replace the Western Mass with a prayer service with no distribution of Holy Communion.

Help us, to make this appeal known. Here the appeal’s website: www.stop-western-mass.com.

Emails can be written directly to cardinal Schönborn: ebs@edw.or.at

"Youcat"? They should rename it Lolcat:cute and unfunny

After the "contraceptive" debacle, an even greater mess in "Youcat" - and what else could be expected from the Cardinal of Vienna? He is just so bad in defending the faith that he actually makes us side with Totò Rino Fisichella...

Catholic Culture reported earlier today:

The Italian edition contained another translation error in its treatment of end-of-life treatment. While the German original said that a family may accept the inevitability of death of a loved one, the Italian translation used a term meaning "passive euthanasia," thus appearing to provide justification for the removal of food and water from a dying patient--a practice that the Church condemns.

As Sandro Magister notices, it is not merely another Italian translation problem:

"With the blessing of the Cardinal"....

...really, words cannot describe this Pseudo-American-Confederate-folk-celebration-messe in the Archdiocese of Vienna, „mit dem Segen des Kardinals“.

Tip: Chris Gillibrand.

(UPDATE: The video has been removed, but photos of the event can still be found here. CAP.)

The Pope and the Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna or... Stop plotting the next conclave: this Pope is very much alive

1. Original Italian text.

2. Vatican Information Service translation:

The Holy See Press Office released the following communique early this afternoon:

"(1) The Holy Father today received in audience Cardinal Christoph Schonborn O.P., archbishop of Vienna and president of the Austrian Episcopal Conference. The cardinal had asked to meet the Supreme Pontiff personally in order to report on the current situation of the Church in Austria. In particular, Cardinal Schonborn wished to clarify the exact meaning of his recent declarations concerning some aspects of current ecclesiastical discipline, and certain of his judgements regarding positions adopted by the Secretariat of State - and in particular by the then Secretary of State of Pope John Paul II - concerning the late Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer, archbishop of Vienna from 1986 to 1995.

"(2) Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, and Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. were subsequently invited to join the meeting.

"In the second part of the audience certain widespread misunderstandings were clarified and resolved, misunderstandings deriving partly from certain statements of Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, who expressed his displeasure at the interpretations given to his words.

"In particular:

"(a) It must be reiterated that, in the Church, when accusations are made against a cardinal, competency falls exclusively to the Pope; other parties may have a consultative function, while always maintaining due respect for persons.

"(b) The word 'chiacchiericcio' (gossip) was erroneously interpreted as disrespectful to the victims of sexual abuse, towards whom Cardinal Angelo Sodano nourishes the same feelings of compassion, and of condemnation of evil, as expressed on various occasions by the Holy Father. That word, pronounced during his Easter address to Pope Benedict XVI, was taken literally from the pontifical homily of Palm Sunday and referred to the "courage that does not let itself be intimidated by the gossip of prevalent opinions".

"(3) The Holy Father, recalling with great affection his own pastoral trip to Austria, via Cardinal Christoph Schonborn sends his greetings and encouragement to the Church in Austria, and to her pastors, entrusting the journey to renewed ecclesial communion to the celestial protection of the Blessed Virgin, so venerated at Mariazell".

A Message from the Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna

The Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna, the man ultimately responsible for this, and this, and this (and this - and also this; and this, too), has a message for the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX) today (EarthTimes - see also Kreuz.net and ORF.at):

Vienna - The Vatican is set to tell a rebel ultra- traditional Catholic group that the Church's core values and its relations with Judaism are not negotiable, Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn said in an interview published on Saturday. Earlier this year, the Catholic leadership in Rome drew criticism from within and outside the Church for lifting excommunication orders against bishops of the controversial Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), including British-born Richard Williamson who has denied the scale of the Nazi mass murder of Jews.

In the coming days, a recently restructured church commission would meet the renegades, the cardinal and Vienna archbishop told the Passauer Neue Presse.

Rome would not give the group a "free pass," and Pope Benedict XVI was striving to "get a group of Catholics which has parted from the Church back into the boat," said Schoenborn, who is a member of several Vatican bodies.

The non-negotiable positions to be set out to the Pius Society include the Church's positions towards the Jewish faith, other non- Christian religions as well as Christian faiths, and towards religious freedom as a fundamental human right, according to Schoenborn.

In June, the pope placed the commission under the authority of the Holy See's main disciplinary watchdog body, after it had drawn criticism for its handling of the SSPX.

SSPX members are currently barred from official roles within the church unless they agree to fully abide with its teachings.

Such teachings include the so-called Second Vatican Council reforms of the 1960s, which sought to modernize the Church.

The Cardinal of Vienna: a man who is tough when it counts.

The unstoppable Cardinal of Vienna

During his visit to the Vatican with a delegation of Austrian Bishops in the past two days, the Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna delivered a message from his flock, as Italian news agency ASCA reports:

In the Vatican, Card. Schönborn also presented the so-called "Initiative of the lay faithful" (Laieninitiative), a petition by relevant Austrian Catholics launched earlier this year, which asks for the abolition of compulsory celibacy, the return to activity of married priests, the opening of the diaconate to women, and the ordination of [married] 'viri probati'.

________________
Tip: Papa Ratzinger blog

Declaration

On June 15 and 16, a meeting was held in the Vatican between the Holy Father and heads of Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, and the following Austrian Bishops: Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, President of the Austrian Episcopal Conference; Archbishop Alois Kothgasser, Archbishop of Salzburg; Bishop Egon Kapellari, Bishop of Graz-Seckau, Vice-President of the Austrian Episcopal Conference; Bishop Ludwig Schwarz, Bishop of Linz. Also attending was: Archbishop Peter Stephan Zurbriggen, Apostolic Nuncio to Austria.

From the Roman Curia, the following were in attendance: Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops; Cardinal William Joseph Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Claudio Hummes, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy; Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education; Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko, President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity.

At the meeting, genuine collegiality was acknowledged and, in fraternal dialogue and constructive spirit, some topics related to the situation of the Diocese of Linz and the Church in Austria were discussed, and solutions for current problems were addressed.

The Holy Father recalled the urgency of deepening the faith, of full fidelity to the Second Vatican Council and to the post-conciliar Magisterium of the Church [nachkonziliaren Lehramt der Kirche], and the renewal of catechesis in light of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Moreover, doctrinal and pastoral issues and issues pertaining to the situation of the clergy, the laity, the seminaries, and the theological schools in Linz and in other dioceses in Austria were discussed.

The Austrian Bishops thanked the Holy Father for his paternal care and for this meeting, as a sign of his solidarity with the Church in Austria, and expressed to him their full communion and loyalty. The Austrian Bishops also thanked the Roman Curia for the fruitful cooperation and for their readiness to assist in the matter.

[Source: Kath.net - Stephanscom]

Ranjith, Archbishop of ColomboDiNoia, Secretary of CDW

As predicted for over a year, Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, the embattled Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, was named today Archbishop of Colombo, the main diocese of his native Sri Lanka.

His substitute had been mentioned for almost a month: American theologian Fr. Joseph Augustine DiNoia, O. P., up to now undersecretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

[Source: Bollettino; also in today's Bollettino, news that the Holy Father held his second meeting with a delegation of Austrian Bishops this Tuesday.]

Note: First things first

Quite an eventful month for the German-speaking bishops.

In Germany, several bishops are afflicted by what can only be described as "mass hysteria" regarding an absolutely normal act of the life of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX) - and it cannot be denied that the great act (very merciful, very just, or both) of Pope Benedict XVI, lifting the excommunication of the Bishops of the SSPX, did not entail the complete paralysis of the regular life of that society. It may still be in an irregular situation, but there has been no sign from the Vatican that the Sacraments ordinarily ministered by its Bishops and priests must be suspended while negotiations go on.

Meanwhile, in Austria, the local Bishops are heading off to Rome for emergency meetings in the Vatican, which include a rendezvous with the Pontiff himself. The topic? The unbearable "autonomy" of the "Church of Austria", particularly after the Linz scandal.

[Rorate note: It is not a regular "ad limina" visit of the Austrian bishops, which should take place no earlier than late 2010 or early 2011.]

---

Update (June 15): "The Holy Father received this morning in audience: Bishops of Austria." (Bollettino)

Wagner Affair over

The Holy Father has relieved the Rev. Mons. Gerhard Wagner from accepting the office of Auxiliary Bishop of Linz (Austria).

Holy See Press Office