The...the Rev. Gerhard Maria Wagner made the decision because of the controversy surrounding Pope Benedict XVI's promotion of him in Linz, Austria's second largest city.
The promotion of the conservative pastor sparked an outcry among Catholics who warned it could prompt people to leave the church.
and now we hear
15-02-2009 23:00
Pope accepts withdrawal ultraconservatore Austrian prelate
(ANSA) - VIENNA, FEB 15 - The prelate ultraconservatore Maria Gerhard Wagner asked the Pope to withdraw his recent appointment as auxiliary bishop of Linz. And the Vatican has accepted his request. The appointment of Wagner, commissioned by Pope January 31, and 'was highly contentious'...the bishop drew attention to whether he 'accused of' Satanism 'the Harry Potter books and said that Hurricane Katrina was a sort of divine punishment for 'immorality' of New Orleans.
On the other hand, it's probably good to find out now rather than later how easily he could be intimidated by the left.
(and once again...kudos to Ansa for keeping it strictly to the facts and not letting any kind of editorialising into this very short missive.)
1 comment:
As Charles Péguy so famously put it, "It will never be known what acts of cowardice have been committed for fear of not looking sufficiently progressive." (Except, of course, in this case, it IS known what an act of cowardice this was.)
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