Austrians Leaving Catholic Church

[rachael]

[url="http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=518&e=4&u=/ap/austria_church_exodus"]http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...a_church_exodus[/url]

By WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press Writer

VIENNA, Austria - Austrians disgusted by a summer of scandal involving child pornography at a seminary and a prominent priest accused of sexual abuse are leaving the Roman Catholic church in significant numbers, church leaders said Friday.



Applications to withdraw from parishes in the Archdiocese of Vienna rose by 36 percent in July and by another 40 percent in August, it said. As of Aug. 31, 10,709 people had left the church, it said.

Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, Austria's top churchman, said he couldn't blame people for wanting out after the discovery in July of 40,000 lurid images — including child pornography — on computers at the seminary just west of Vienna.

Earlier this month, a second scandal hit Austria's church when Catholic officials disclosed they were investigating allegations that one of the country's best-known priests molested teenagers in the 1980s.

"We've had these unending icy rains the entire summer: more and more scandals, negative headlines, and from many people, cries of `I've had enough!'" Schoenborn wrote in a commentary for this Sunday's edition of a Vienna church newspaper.

The cardinal appealed to Austrians to remain faithful to their parishes.

Austria's scandals have dealt a fresh blow to a church already stung by widespread allegations of priest abuse in the United States. Last year, the Archdiocese of Boston agreed to pay $85 million to settle lawsuits filed by more than 500 victims of clergy sex abuse.

In overwhelmingly Roman Catholic Austria, people are automatically registered as church members when they are baptized as infants. To get their names off the rolls, they must formally apply to the government and pay any state church taxes they may owe.

Before the sex scandals hit, unhappiness with the church tax — which averages about $350 a year — was a key reason why people left.

Archdiocese spokesman Erich Leitenberger said Friday that departures were up nearly 11 percent for the year, and that for the church, "every withdrawal is one too many."

The Vatican (news - web sites) has appointed a special investigator, Austrian Bishop Klaus Kueng, to look into the seminary pornography scandal and report back to Pope John Paul (news - web sites) II. Police are conducting a separate criminal investigation.

Last month, Kueng shut down the seminary in St. Poelten, where trainee priests also had snapped photos of each other fondling and kissing one another.

Police and church officials, meanwhile, are investigating allegations that a prominent priest, the Rev. August Paterno, molested at least 10 youths two decades ago. Paterno, well-known for having ghostwritten a nationally televised series on religion, has maintained his innocence. He retired last week.

Helmut Schueller, the Vienna Archdiocese's ombudsman for victims of sexual abuse, conceded that some believers feel betrayed and that the Austrian church's credibility is at stake.

"The faithful have the right to expect those who are in positions of authority in the church to be controlled," he told The Tablet, an independent Catholic magazine in Britain.

[Guest T-Bone]

[Laudate_Dominum]

that's bizzare. [img]http://phorum.phatmass.com/style_images/1/icon8.gif[/img]

[StColette]

[azaelia]

[ICTHUS]

Well, as long as they leave and go to Bible-believing churches, it's all good. Plenty of Reformed churches in Austria, I should think - it's right next to the birthplace of the glorious Reformation of Christ's Church.

[Luthien]

Its always sad when people stray from the complete truth.



:-)

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='ICTHUS' date='Sep 24 2004, 10:22 PM'] Well, as long as they leave and go to Bible-believing churches, it's all good. [/quote]
Leaving the Catholic Church for the Catholic Church? Now that's just silly...

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote name='ICTHUS' date='Sep 24 2004, 09:22 PM'] Well, as long as they leave and go to Bible-believing churches, it's all good. Plenty of Reformed churches in Austria, I should think - it's right next to the birthplace of the glorious Reformation of Christ's Church. [/quote]
Since it's not really a doctrinal reason, I imagine many are simply falling into irreligion.
And I wouldn't be comfortable calling the Reformation glorious. The history that I've read is pretty disgusting really.

[Norseman82]

Someone once said "I didn't give up on democracy because of Watergate."

[Laudate_Dominum]

nm

[Guest T-Bone]

[quote name='ICTHUS' date='Sep 24 2004, 08:22 PM'] Well, as long as they leave and go to Bible-believing churches, it's all good. Plenty of Reformed churches in Austria, I should think - it's right next to the birthplace of the glorious Reformation of Christ's Church. [/quote]
You must mean Bible-worshiping churches?

[RandomProddy]

[quote name='T-Bone' date='Sep 25 2004, 08:21 AM'] You must mean Bible-worshiping churches? [/quote]
Isn't that a form of idolatry?

[EcceNovaFacioOmni]

While what the Austrian priests are doing is ridiculous, I think people are just looking for a way out of their Sunday obligation.

[MichaelFilo]

I don't know, the fact that those priests would do such a thing isn't neccessarily a little thing. This is a BIG situation, and it is a bit scandalous to the faithful, I can understand their leaving the Church. However, it dawns upon a person if they think about it, this temptation to the priets to commit such an act is an attempt to kill off spiritual life and make many faithful leave (The faithful don't have super strong foundations, so they will die off like the flowers in the parable).

I don't think it's a Sunday obligation thing.

God bless,

Mikey