Austrian bishops have criticized an effort by a group of priests
calling for reforms in church practice, including opening the priesthood
to women and married men, but the bishops have not taken or threatened
disciplinary action.
Michael Pruller, spokesman for Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of
Vienna, said the cardinal plans to meet in late August or September with
the Viennese priests who are among the leaders of the "Initiative of
Parish Priests," which launched a "Call to Disobedience" in June.
The initiative, which says it has just more than 300 members,
suggested saying a public prayer at every Mass for church reform; giving
Communion to everyone who approaches the altar in good faith, including
divorced Catholics who have remarried without an annulment; allowing
women to preach at Mass; and supporting the ordination of women and
married men.
In a telephone interview from Vienna July 11, Pruller said that as
far as he knew, the Austrian bishops have not discussed a common
response to the priests.
"No bishop has threatened disciplinary actions, but at the end of the
day if a priest leads his parish away from what the church teaches,
action would have to be taken," Pruller said.
The "Call to Disobedience" said the priests felt forced to follow
their consciences for the good of the church in Austria because the
bishops have refused to act.
Cardinal Schonborn issued a statement June 22 and said he waited
three days to respond because he did not want to react "out of the anger
and sorrow" the priests' initiative caused him.
"The open call to disobedience shocked me," he said.
The cardinal said none of the priests was ordained by force and all of them vowed obedience as they strive to do God's will.
Cardinal Schonborn said righteous human beings must follow their
conscience, and if the priests really believe they have such an extreme
conflict of conscience with the church, they probably should consider
whether they still belong in the church.
"I believe and hope, however, that this extreme case does not occur
here," he wrote. But ultimately, "we all decide whether we want to walk
the path with the pope, the bishops and the universal church or not."
Bishop Egon Kapellari of Graz, vice president of the Austrian
bishops' conference, issued a statement June 28 saying the priests'
proposals "seriously threaten the identity and unity of the Catholic
Church."
While pastors are right to be concerned about providing more and
better pastoral care to Catholics in the country, the situation in
Austria is not so drastic that it would require priests to act outside
communion with the universal church, he said.
It is one thing to call public attention to the needs of the church,
Bishop Kapellari said, and it is another to encourage people to disobey
church teaching and practice.
Bishop Kapellari said that while personal conscience is a "highly
respected value" in the church, it is wrong to imply that the pope and
bishops are not acting out of their own good conscience when promoting
the unity and tradition of the church.