Papal protege rips top cardinal, says maybe gays ain't so bad
While reading this report from The Tablet keep in mind that the cardinal voicing these criticisms is close to Pope Benedict XVI and the principal author of the Roman Catholic Catechism:
The head of the Austrian Church has launched an attack of one of the most senior cardinals in the Vatican, saying that Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, “deeply wronged” the victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy when he dismissed media reports of the scandal. In a meeting with editors of the main Austrian daily newspapers last week, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the Archbishop of Vienna, also said the Roman Curia was “urgently in need of reform”, and that lasting gay relationships deserved respect. He reiterated his view that the Church needs to reconsider its position on re-married divorcees. ...Cardinal Schönborn said that Pope Benedict was “gently” working on reforming the Curia but he had the whole world on his desk, as the cardinal put it, and his way of working and his style of communication did not make it easy to advise him quickly from outside.
Cardinal Schönborn studied under Joseph Ratzinger at Regensburg University and is known to be close to him.
Questioned on the Church’s attitude to homosexuals, the cardinal said: “We should give more consideration to the quality of homosexual relationships,” adding: “A stable relationship is certainly better than if someone chooses to be promiscuous.”
The cardinal also said the Church needed to reconsider its view of re-married divorcees “as many people don’t even marry at all any longer”.
The Rev. James Martin has a bit of commentary on America's site.
It is possible that Schonborn is taking down Sodano to prop up his papal patron, but if that were the case, would he have broached the issues of divorce and gay relationships? That seems unlikely.
My first thought was that this guy is in for big trouble from his boss even though what he says is reasoned and accurate from where I sit.
In many ways the Curia (the Vatican machine) is a huge problem. They have a great deal invested in seeing that Vatican II is erased from the church's memory even while they continue to claim fidelity to it. The Council's desire to give more authority to local churches (national churches and their conferences of bishops) was a direct threat to Vatican power and control. Popes come and go but the Curia is forever.
The problem I have with the cardinal's statements is that he's still deciding what other people need to do and believe. Perhaps that reaction is more a reflection of the fact that I've been a part of the Episcopal Church long enough to have this sort of thing rub me the wrong way. I am grateful for that.
Posted by Peter Pearson![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 10, 2010 7:38 AM
I'm sorry but the world the Pope has on his plate is of his own making. More than anyone else he shaped the present curia, stacking it with ultra-conservatives of his own ilk.
The Pope could deal appropriately with the sex abuse scandal in fifteen minutes if he chose too. But he is likely to learn, as Richard Nixon did, that it is the cover up that gets you. That he himself has suborned obstruction of justice and he himself has deflected this onto homosexuality is abhorrent enough to warrant calls for his resignation.
Posted by Michael Russell![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 10, 2010 10:12 AM
Well, it's certainly interesting. Looking at the Tablet article, it appears that Cardinal Schönborn is taking a response to clergy sex abuse issues that would be more familiar to Americans.
As the prelate of a major Catholic state (remember that a great many Austrians are Catholic, at least nominally) Cardinal Schönborn may himself face little response. However, if the bishops appointed under him are as conservative as most appointed in the United States in recent years, he may have little support within his own national conference.
Marshall Scott
Posted by Execute![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 10, 2010 12:12 PM