© europics.at

13. 01. 10. - 13:00

• more General News news
• RSS Feed General News

13. 01. 10. - 13:00

Catholic Church exodus

By David Rogers

The number of Catholics leaving the Church soared last year, according to Catholic press agency Kathpress.

It reported today (Weds) that 53,216 people had left the Church last year - 30.9 per cent more than in 2008.

The figure was 0.96 per cent of all Austrian Catholics, the agency said.

The number of Catholics in Austria at the end of 2009 was 5.53 million, down by 0.8 per cent from the 5.58 Catholics at the end of 2008, Kathpress said.

Erich Leitenberger, press spokesman for the Vienna archdiocese, said every departure from the Church was "painful", but added the number of Catholics had remained "relatively stable" in 2009.

He also claimed the recession was one of the major factors behind the exodus as people who formally leave the Church no longer have to pay a church tax.

The increase in Church departures last year was highest in Linz diocese - 43.5 per cent. Many observers said that had been largely down to Pope Benedict XVI’s nomination of conservative Windischgarst Pastor Gerhard Maria Wagner as auxiliary bishop. The ultra-conservative priest had labelled the Harry Potter books "the work of Satan," called homosexuality "curable" and said natural disasters like the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans had been God’s punishment of human sin.

The Pope later withdrew the nomination after a subsequent public outcry.

A Linz diocese spokesman said today that the number of Church departures there last year had been "painful" and "a cause of great concern."

Diocese official Gabriele Eder-Cakl added that the Pope’s lifting of the excommunications of some bishops of the Pius Brotherhood last year had also caused some Catholics to leave the Church.

The Pius Brotherhood rejects some of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and includes a bishop who has denied the Holocaust.

The second-largest increase, 40.3 per cent, occurred in Feldkirch diocese in Vorarlberg, where Bishop Elmar Fischer made controversial remarks about homosexuality.

The lowest increase was in Carinthia, 15.1 per cent, and Vienna ranked in the middle of Austrian dioceses with an increase of 27.8 per cent.

Austria has the eighth highest percentage of people claiming to follow a religious faith - 79 per cent - among European Union (EU) member states, according to EU statistics.

Austrian Times

Related articles: Catholic church

1. Vienna Boys Choir faces sexual abuse claims

   » General News 2010-03-12

   A 33-year-old German claimed he was sexually abused during his time at the Vienna Boys Choir.

2. Schönborn and Leitl rule out voting Rosenkranz

   » General News 2010-03-05

   Vienna Archbishop Christoph Cardinal Schönborn said today (Fri) he could rule out voting for the Freedom Party’s (FPÖ) presidential election candidate Barbara Rosenkranz.

3. Sex abuse issue to dominate Austrian Bishops Conference

   » General News 2010-03-01

   Sexual abuse of boys by Roman Catholic clergy and the growing exodus of Catholics from the Church are expected to dominate discussion at a conference of Austrian bishops starting today (Mon).

4. Church rejects blackmail bid

   » General News 2010-02-24

   The Roman Catholic Graz-Seckau diocese has today (Weds) revealed how a former victim of sexual abuse by priests tried to blackmail them for one million Euros.

5. Priest under investigation for child abuse

   » General News 2010-02-22

   The Salzburg public prosecutor’s office said today (Mon) it was investigating a priest in Salzburg archdiocese in connection with child abuse.

6. Vienna archdiocese has child abuse ombudsman

   » General News 2010-02-17

   The Roman Catholic Vienna archdiocese has had an ombudsmen for sexual abuse of children since 1996, it revealed today (Weds).

7. Churches make food and car Lent call

   » Panorama 2010-02-09

   Church leaders have called on Austrians to cut back on food and car use during Lent.

8. Church speaks out after Wagner comments on earthquake

   » General News 2010-02-02

   Senior Catholic figures in Austria have been forced to speak out after controversial comments by an ultra-conservative pastor over the Haiti earthquake.

9. Catholic Church 'sect' attack

   » General News 2010-02-02

   Lay Catholics have claimed the Pope is "ruining" a Church which is now a corrupt "sect".

10. Cardinal Schönborn to start US visit

    » General News 2010-01-29

    Vienna Archbishop Christoph Cardinal Schönborn is to start a six-day trip to the USA tomorrow (Sat).

Zumtobel reports worse results
Vorarlberg lighting firm Zumtobel has reported worse results for the first three quarters of its 2009/2010 business year (1 May to 30 April).

Special security measures for Austrian poker tournament
Austrian police will take special security measures at this month’s European Poker Tour (EPT) tournament following the robbery at an international poker tournament in Berlin earlier this month.

Soaring fuel prices avoid more drastic inflation decrease
Inflation in Austria dropped slightly last month, federal statistics agency Statistik Austria said today (Tues).

Back seat passengers in seat belt warning
One third of back seat car passengers in Austria do not use seat belts, according to the Committee for Traffic Safety (KfV).

Erste Bank Austria chief to retire early
Erste Bank in Austria announced today (Tues) that its General Director Elisabeth Bleyleben-Koren would retire on 30 June 2010 even though her contract expires in mid-2012.

Five Romanians arrested for robbery in Upper Austria
Police arrested five Romanians suspected of having injured and robbed a car dealer yesterday (Mon) in Ansfelden in Upper Austria’s Linz-Land district.

New season begins at Vienna's Prater
The new season kicks off at Vienna’s Prater amusement park with the popular Schweizerhaus restaurant expanding its beer garden and installing a 117 metre high tower near the entrance setting the theme for "Vienna in 1900".

Minister makes U-turn on asylum seekers
People’s Party (ÖVP) Interior Minister Maria Fekter has said for the first time that Austria might not need a third asylum seekers’ centre - a move seen by many as being a policy U-turn.

Vienna electricity outage lasts one hour
A defective cable caused an electricity outage in Vienna-Leopoldstadt this morning (Tues) for about one hour, said energy supplier Wien Energie.

Palfrader and Scheuba to get the dirty job done at Volkstheater
An acclaimed cabaret stage show featuring TV star Robert Palfrader will be performed at the Volkstheater Vienna this Saturday.