http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/11/07/uk-austria-church-idUKTRE7A62SL20111107
CathVIENNA Mon Nov 7, 2011 1:59pm GMT
(Reuters) - "Dissident Austrian Catholics announced lay people will start celebrating Mass when a priest is unavailable, a clear call to disobedience just as the country's bishops hold their autumn conference.
A manifesto adopted by dozens of activists at the weekend said lay people will preach, consecrate and distribute communion in priestless parishes, said Hans Peter Hurka, head of the group We Are Church.
"Church law bans this. The question is, can Church law overrule the Bible? We are of the opinion, based on findings from the Second Vatican Council, that this (ban) is not possible," he said Monday...Schoenborn, a former student and close associate of Pope Benedict, has ruled out sweeping changes demanded by dissident priests led by his former deputy, Rev. Helmut Schueller...The group, which claims to represent about 10 percent of the Austrian clergy, has challenged Church teaching on taboo topics such as priestly celibacy and women's ordination..."
"...A record 87,000 Austrians left the Church in 2010, many in reaction to sexual abuse scandals."
(Reporting by Michael Shields and Tom Heneghan)
2 comments:
"...A record 87,000 Austrians left the Church in 2010, many in reaction to sexual abuse scandals.""
And many more in reaction to idiots like these running their parishes into the ground.
This is revolutionary news indeed and just the kind of prophetic gesture the church needs at this tragic point in it's history, when the hierarchy has lost its way and abandoned the gospel. Simply contrast the plight of Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, removed from his parish for arguing for an extension of the statue of limitations on priestly child sex abusers and the lavish, fun filled party hosted by Cardinal Bernard Law in Rome last week.
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