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Church in the WorldLetter to Küng calls for clarityEurope 11 December 2004
The Austrian church reform group, We Are Church, has sent the new Bishop of St P?lten, Klaus K?ng, an open letter asking him to make the report of the papal visitation on the St P?lten seminary public. In July, the Vatican sent K?ng to investigate a scandal at the seminary involving the downloading of child pornography and claims of homosexual activity there. K?ng subsequently replaced Kurt Krenn as Bishop of St P?lten.
The letter, dated 26 November, agrees with K?ng that a new start in St P?lten is imperative, but says that there are no signs of this happening as a number of important questions remain open. We Are Church asks whether there was a final report on the visitation, and if so, whether K?ng would publish the results. Although the seminary was closed after the sex scandal was revealed in July, and although Krenn was eventually persuaded to resign, what had actually happened remained guesswork, the letter said.
Many Catholics in the diocese had been deeply wounded during Krenn's 13-year period of office, and the letter asked whether K?ng had considered trying to persuade those responsible to apologise. It sought to establish what measures were being taken to prevent unsuitable and unacceptable appointments being made in future and, as only Krenn had resigned so far, asked what would happen to those people he had appointed to positions of authority over the years and whose behaviour had caused tensions, divisions and suffering in the diocese.
The letter asked whether it was true the former rector of the seminary, dismissed by K?ng after photographs showing him fondling seminarians made world news headlines, now taught religious education. It concluded by asking K?ng what concrete plans he had for re-uniting the diocese and how We Are Church could help in this process. Despite repeated promises by K?ng that a new start would be made in St P?lten, a perceived lack of transparency has led to a growing unease among the diocesan faithful, who were not even informed a final report on the visitation had been sent to Rome. |
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