Austrian Heresy

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http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/geraldwarner/8752063/AntiPapal_Austrian_bishops_resurrect

_the_Josephite_heresy/

Gerald Warner

Gerald Warner is an author, broadcaster, columnist and polemical

commentator who writes about politics, religion, history, culture and society

in general.

Anti-Papal Austrian bishops resurrect the

Josephite heresy

ByGerald WarnerPoliticsLast updated: February 28th, 2009

12 CommentsComment on this article

Heresies are like fashions: wait long enough and an old heterodoxy will become modish

again. The Catholic bishops of Austria have just resurrected Josephism, 219 years after the

death of its instigator, Emperor Joseph II, who seized control of the Church, imposing

6,200 religious laws and even dictating the size of candles.

When the Pope recently selected Father Gerhard Maria Wagner as auxiliary bishop of Linz,shock waves ran through the episcopal ranks. Wagner is a doctrinal and liturgical

conservativein shorthand, a Catholicand that is an automatic disqualification for

wearing a mitre in trendy Austria.

The temper of the Austrian hierarchy can be gauged from the example of Bishop ReinholdStecher who, on his retirement a decade ago, published a letter denouncing the then Pope
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John Paul II's insistence on clerical celibacy and ban on ordaining priestesses (an infallibly

declared doctrine of faith). What made the bishops so nervous about Father Wagner's

appointment was the fact that the Austrian hierarchy is on the verge of a generational

handover, with four bishops nearing retirement, and the faded 1960s trendies dread beingsucceeded by younger, more orthodox prelates.

So the screws were put on Father Wagner, who announced his renunciation of the post hehad just accepted. He has since made a statement that his resignation was not voluntary.

The Austrian Bishops' Conference then issued an egregious pastoral letter that amounted tocollective defiance of the Holy See. Regarding episcopal appointments it stated that "before

the Holy Father takes the final decision, reliable and thoroughly tested basic information

must be provided on which he can rely".

That is barely coded language for a right of veto on appointments as exercised historicallyby Joseph II. The bishops want to eliminate any candidate with a whiff of orthodoxy about

him orhorror of horrors a penchant for the Latin Tridentine Mass. The pastoral said:

"This can ensure that bishops are appointed who are not 'against' but 'for' a local church."What is that supposed to mean?

So outrageous was the blatant defiance expressed in this pastoral letter and so profound theshock it is beginning to provoke among Catholics around the world for its impertinence

towards the Pope that some of the bishops are beginning to backtrack and criticise theproceedings against Father Wagner. Bishop Ludwig Schwarz of Linz has been summoned

to Rome and the Linz Priests' Circle has said that forcing Wagner's withdrawal showed how

anti-Roman forces and forces from outside the Church are rebelling against the Pope's God-

given authority.

The bishops' concern to protect the modern liturgy is understandable: of Austria's 5.6million Catholics, it now attracts a magnificent 13 per cent to Mass on Sundays. The

mindset betrayed by the pastoral was schismatic: a return to the Josephite concept of a self-

contained Austrian Church, on the Gallican model. It is difficult to regard the Austrianhierarchy as in full communion with Rome, in the light of its conduct. Austria, like so many

other countries, needs a complete change of personnel among its bishops.


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12 comments

tatraeagle

03/08/2009 08:56 PM

I concur to Gerald's oppinion. It seems that Austrian priests forgot that obedience is one of the pillars of

Catholic teaching. Catholic Church is not and never meant to be a democracy. It is based on belief that Papal

authority is directly from Christ and that Bishops are successors of apostles. I wonder how Father Franz Wild is

taking his own criticism while he is heading rebellion against the Pope's decision.

Bible has it: "Obedience is more than sacrifise!" This is a key point in Catholic Faith, take it away and you end

in Protestantism. The Holy Eucharist is the central point of Catholic Faith. Without obedience there is no Holy

Eucharist, without Holy Eucharist there is no Holy Mass and without Holy Mass there is no Body of Christ. Thebenefit of Eucharist increases with profound understanding of obedience. These are the basic principles of

Catholic Faith and I am surpriced that Fr. Franz Wild and Austrian priests who promissed obedience to

Bishops and the Pope are refusing to accept Holy's Father decision. Breaking a vow is a sign of a weak

character - it is a form of adultery.

Austrian priest should consult their colleagues in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in this. During communist

time it was very difficult to be obedient to Bishops. The communist's government agreed only to the candidates

who compromised their faith with Marxism. Yet in long run their obedience to Bishops brought its fruits. Fr.

Franz Wild should learn from his colleague Frantishek Wild who survived 16 years of hardship and

persecusion in the communist jail and died as a saint in the City of Pezinok near Bratislava. New generation of

priests after WWII grew up in western consumption driven society. Spoilt children had everything except

discipline and obedience.

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afcote

03/05/2009 10:17 AM

"do not see why being a conservative Christian should be irreconcilable with supporting the ordination of

female priests"

Because it is the infallibly declared teaching of the Church, according to the Successor of Peter, who alone can
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guide the Church as he holds the keys to heaven.

If you left the Church for the Anglican heresy - a splinter group which has separated itself from the Body of

Christ - over a disagreement with an essential Church teaching then you did the right thing, as you were not a

Catholic anyway. Catholics obey the Pope, even if they do not agree with him.

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afcote

03/05/2009 10:12 AM

Doesn't Austria have a concordat with Rome which allows it approval of episcopal appointments?

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airborneman

03/01/2009 09:14 PM

St. Athanius, dubbed the Father of Orthodoxy, stated "

The floor of hell is paved with the skulls of Bishops."

Jesus Christ established a kingdom not a democracy. I think many Bishops, Priests and Lay Individuals needto decide what they believe. If there are major differences in those things that are significant, then

they should leave the Catholic Church and not be hypocrites. Jesus Christ said "count the cost". No one is

forced to believe - make your choice with some integrity.

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frugal_dougal

03/01/2009 12:43 PM

I agree with a lot of what you say, but do not see why being a conservative Christian should be irreconcilable

with supporting the ordination of female priests, which is why I left the RC church to join the CofE.

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rusticus

02/28/2009 04:41 PM

Baldyjohn;

Thank you for your very thoughtful and interesting post.

Your last two paragraphs in particular were extremely apposite, and they have given me much food for

thought.

Dominus vobiscum.

o

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baldyjohn
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02/28/2009 11:36 AM

A very interesting blog and subject. As a Catholic, that the "Universal Church" in fact varies from one country

and culture to another, is not news to me. Indeed this provides any Pope with an unenviable task which leads

to accusations of "politics" in his decisions and invariably being "too conservative" in doctrinal matters.

Many years ago I met a number of Bishops who were attending a conference in London, Vatican II was on the

horizon. The diversity of approach from African and South American Bishops to those from North America and

Europe was quite striking and I had doubts as to just "how Catholic" Dutch and Austrian Bishops were. I must

say that our British ones seemed a pretty balanced lot at the time.

The reality of course is that the "Communion of the Catholic Church" is based upon these national and regional

variations, it always has been and in part gives it its strength and durability. Although it may look monolithic to

outsiders as for example the Communist Soviet Union was, it isn't.

Every now and then something like the "Austrian Situation" arises but in a sense, that is a good thing because

it is a timely reminder. If the 'Church' were run only by the wishes of North American and European Catholics

without the checks and balances provided by Africa, South America plus the East, it would be torn apart by

married, gay, women this and that desired in the "West" and totally unacceptable in emerging economies.

Of course whilst there are many who despise religion in any form, but the Catholic reality is that through the

Pope and the Bishops, there is the ability to examine afresh most subjects and, at an appropriate time,

introduce gradual change where appropriate. One might wish other religions had such a forum.

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tbw

02/28/2009 05:34 AM

Oh Gerald Warner! What are you doing in Britain? Leave the country of your ancestors and come to

Mitteleuropa. Your place is not in the Western world. Your thoughts are so typical for old Central Europe that
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only you could restore a world which once broke down. And believe me: once you had restored it, it would

break down again. Some houses simply cannot stand. Never. And you're one of those rare architects with the

ability to build the sort of house which would break down immediately. There's only one problem: why should

young people in Austria and elsewhere have the wish to repeat the mistakes of their grandfathers? Any

answers, Gerald? If you cannot forward them, you and Father Wagner won't get the second youth you're

longing for. Not in this life! Oh no.

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loz

02/28/2009 04:51 AM

Brilliant article, Gerald. Very worrying signs.

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neloon

02/28/2009 04:10 AM

The papacy has always been more political than passible.

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baronlaurencedequietzapple

02/28/2009 03:30 AM
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Await Warner's Ad in the Dully . .

"New race, bipedal optional, required to populate small blue planet . . "

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prodicus

02/28/2009 03:29 AM

Much like England and Wales, then
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Austrian Heresy

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