UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter
by Robert McClory | Jul. 26, 2013
As Fr. Helmut Schüller travels the United States, the question that puzzles many is how he and other leaders of the “Appeal to Disobedience” movement escape condemnation if not excommunication by the bishops of Austria. Schüller, head of the Austrian Priests’ Initiative, speaks candidly about the need for a “new image of the priesthood,” which would be open to women and married persons. He sees no reason to deny Communion to divorced and remarried persons and members of other Christian churches. And his organization advocates that every parish have a leader (man or woman, married or single) who would preside at the Eucharist in order to avoid the consolidation or closing of churches. Yet Schüller has so far escaped censure (except for the removal of his title as monsignor). He remains an active priest in good standing in his native Vienna diocese.
At a dinner sponsored by Call to Action the evening before his talk Wednesday in Chicago, Schüller provided some answers to the question. To understand Austrian Catholicism, he said, you have to go back to the turmoil of the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Habsburg rulers imposed the Catholic faith on all Austrian citizens, forcing conversions and expelling non-Catholic clergy from the country.
“This experience of repression,” he said, “sowed a lack of confidence” in the hierarchy. “Suspicion and criticism” among the laity has remained a characteristic of the Austrian church to this day, he said.
“On the surface there may be peace and sweetness, but beneath, there is an historic burden we carry,” Schüller said.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.