Friday, 10. February 2012

:: Home > General News > Church speaks out after Wagner comments on earthquake

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
30	31	1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	1	2	3	4

Add your event FREE

Today

Polls

02. 02. 10. - 11:00

Church speaks out after Wagner comments on earthquake

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

Pastor Gerhard Maria Wagner had claimed 90 per cent of Haitians practised voodoo in an interview published in the newspaper Kurier on Sunday when he was asked if the Haitian earthquake had been God�s punishment of human sin.

He told the paper: "I do not know, but it is interesting that 90 per cent of Haitians belong to the cult of voodoo."

Wagner, a pastor in Windischgarsten, Upper Austria, had previously claimed that Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the tsunami in Southeast Asia had been God�s punishment of human sin.

But Linz General Vicar Severin Lederhilger reacted quickly following the comments and said on Sunday contemporary Catholic theological teaching held that it was "completely inappropriate and unacceptable" to call natural catastrophes "God�s punishment" of the immoral behaviour of victims, according to Catholic press agency Kathpress.

The vicar said it was a "cynical and fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible" to claim such catastrophes were "a punishment by God the creator".

But he said it was legitimate to ask whether human behaviour had helped cause them.

"Lack of respect for nature can have negative consequences," he added.

Kathpress said 80 per cent of Haitians were Catholics and 10 per cent followed other Christian religions. It added that only a few people were members of Haiti�s "voodoo" cult and most did not perceive a conflict between it and Christianity.

In the same interview, Wagner also called for a national referendum on the issue of construction of minarets.

He said: "One must take people�s concerns seriously and not always criminalise everything. Islam is a danger and must be kept under observation."

Wagner made headlines last year when he was nominated as Linz�s auxiliary bishop by Pope Benedict XVI. The news was greeted with public outcry because of the pastor�s conservative views and controversial comments and the nomination was later withdrawn.

The ultra-conservative priest has in the past labelled the Harry Potter books "the work of Satan" and claimed homosexuality was "curable."

Partly in response to Wagner�s nomination, the number of Catholics leaving the Church soared last year, according to Kathpress.

It reported last month that 53,216 people, or 0.96 per cent of Austrian Catholics, had left the Church last year - 30.9 per cent more than in 2008.

The increase in Church departures last year was highest in Linz diocese - 43.5 per cent. Many observers said that had largely been the result of Wagner�s nomination.

Meanwhile Red Cross, Caritas, CARE charity, Licht f�r die Welt and the Agriculture Chamber have set up accounts for donations to help Haiti earthquake victims, which can be made to:

CARE: PSK 1.236.000 (BLZ 60.000) � password: "Haiti";

Caritas: PSK 7.700 004, (BLZ 60.000) � password: "Erdbeben Haiti",

Austrian Red Cross (�sterreichisches Rotes Kreuz): PSK: 2.345.000 (BLZ 60.000) - password: "Erdbeben Haiti";

Licht f�r die Welt: PSK 92.011.650 (BLZ 60.000) � password: "Haiti-Aufbauhilfe";

Agriculture Chamber: PSK account 90.311.400 (BLZ 60.000).

Austrian Times

Your comment to this article :

(will be approved by an editor before going online)

your name
your location
your message
Not for publication:
your mail
How many vertical lines or which Text (from left to right) do you see in this image:
input for security check

Tag cloud:
Caritas Welt password nomination earthquake conservative catastrophes Kathpress punishment Austria Wagner Catholic Haiti voodoo Church Haitians human Licht pastor Linz

Latest News

Set up tax on financial transactions soon, says Katzian
The head of the Association of Private Employees (GPA-djp) has called for a quick introduction of a tax on financial transactions.

P�hringer rejects U-turn on rightist ball
Young Social Democrats (SP�) have appealed to Upper Austrian Governor Josef P�hringer not to attend the Burschenbundball in Linz this Saturday.

FP� under fire after trip to Grozny
The Freedom Party (FP�) has been harshly criticised for meeting with Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov.

WKO boss wants pension age hike incentives
Federal Economy Chamber (WKO) President Christoph Leitl has identified attempts to raise the average retirement age as the key issue regarding Austria�s budget.

Woman and child run over in Vienna
A woman and child have died in a road accident in Vienna, Austria. The lorry driver was making a right turn when he drove into a group of pedestrians leaving a 59-year-old and a 12-year-old dead. The mother of the school girl was left with serious injuries.

Schlecker says Austrian jobs are safe
The son of Schlecker founder Anton Schlecker has claimed that the company has no plans to sell its Austrian affiliate.

SP� sees smaller parliament as key signal
The general secretary of the Social Democrats (SP�) has argued his support for a reduction of the size of the parliament.

Austrian food to feature in organic trade fair
Austria is expected to be well represented at next week�s BioFach 2012 international organic trade fair in Nuremberg, Germany. Some 90 companies and organisations from the Austrian organic good sector will feature at the fair from 15 to 18 February.

Brothel for the homeless in Vienna
Homeless people are queueing up for free rooms in an Austrian brothel after owner Peter Laskaris said it would be unfair not to do everything he could during the current cold spell.

Deep-freeze snacks for orangutans in Sch�nbrunn
The lucky orangutans who take up residence in Europe�s oldest zoo have been indulging in a twice weekly take-away. Despite the trees in Sch�nbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria now being completely bare the fury friends have fresh branches and leaves delivered twice a week.