A former vicar-general in Vienna says the Church is at a crossroads in terms of lay parish leadership because of the shortage of priests. – Originally reported 5 June 2015 Fr Helmut Schüller said merging independent parishes into vast, impersonal parish associations is “pretty much the most unimaginative thing one can do”. In the long Read more
A Catholic priest in Austria has confessed to producing crystal meth in his parish rectory. The case came to light after authorities arrested the 38-year-old cleric along with a 30-year-old Iraqi citizen from Vienna last week, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner. Both suspects are currently in pretrial detention. The priest, originally from Poland, Read more
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says Europe needs to push back against the far right, amid a political crisis that has claimed Austria’s government. Merkel made the remarks when asked about a scandal engulfing Austria’s anti-immigrant Freedom Party, whose leader Heinz-Christian Strache quit on Saturday as the government’s vice-chancellor. Strache was secretly recorded reportedly promising a Read more
Austrian bishop Manfred Scheuer has written to Pope Francis explaining people are calling for married priests and female deacons in the future ordained ministry. Scheuer told Francis with regards to the Eucharist as the font, center, and summit of the life of the church, three changes are called for. Read more:
An Austrian bishop has refused to allow an anti-refugee border fence to be built on church lands. Bishop Aegidius Zsifkovics of Eisenstadt has ensured the fence being built along Austria’s border with Hungary will have at least two large holes. The bishop said that fences weren’t the answer to Europe’s refugee crisis and allowing them Read more
Defectors from a Catholic community in Austria have described their circumstances there as a living hell. The Vatican has investigated allegations of abuse in The Work (Das Werk) based in Bregenz, but the results are not known. Both nuns and priests belong to the community, as well as non-ordained male and female members. A former Read more
An excommunicated Catholic woman bishop says she has conducted services alongside male Catholic priests without any problems from the Church’s hierarchy. Austrian Christine Mayr-Lumetzberger, 58, told The Telegraph: “Most Catholic priests in Austria, are very nice to me. They call me ‘Mrs Bishop’. And they show me respect.” The newspaper reported her having been at Read more
An Austrian bishop has warned that the Eucharist is in danger of “drying up”, because the Church is not prepared to change rule on who can be a priest. Former Vienna auxiliary Helmut Krätzl has called on bishops to take up Pope Francis’s request to “make courageous suggestions” in order to stop eucharistic scarcity. “We Read more
The head of the international pro-reform We Are Church movement has been excommunicated by the Vatican. Austrian Martha Heizer and her husband Gert suffered this penalty for regularly “simulating the Mass” without a priest present. According to a statement from Innsbruck diocese, the pair publicised this practice, which forced Bishop Manfred Scheuer to take legal Read more
They come seeking refuge, but when asylum seekers cross into the European Union, they often find little compassion. In Greece, they are held in squalid detention camps, while in Italy they often end up on the street. Here is what they face at entry points across the EU. They know they are putting their lives Read more