An out-of-the-ordinary Christmas celebration took place at Epiphany on Sunday, 6 January in St Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna, when Cardinal Christoph Schönborn celebrated Orthodox Christmas with Orthodox Christian refugees from Iran who have been stranded in Vienna since 2016 when the USA tightened its immigration laws.
In his sermon at the festive Mass, the cardinal recalled that many of the group of 108 stranded refugees from persecuted religious minorities in Iran who had been stranded in Vienna for the past two years were Orthodox Christians who celebrated Christmas on 6 January. He had therefore invited them to celebrate Orthodox Christmas with him in the cathedral. Thanks to the Austrian government, they had been given asylum-seeker status and were now hoping to be granted asylum in Austria, he recalled.
After Mass, Schönborn invited all the children to join him for a special children’s Epiphany party in the sacristy where they were given Christmas presents.
The refugees from Iran arrived in Vienna in 2016 through the Lautenberg Amendment for persecuted religious minorities in 2016. They include Christians, Mandaeans and Zoroastrians. As Iran has no direct diplomatic relations with the USA, Austria has traditionally served as a transit destination for them. Many of the stranded refugees are elderly and/or have special needs. The archdiocese is helping to support them financially as although the Austrian government pays for their health insurance and guarantees them a small monthly income, they are not eligible for refugee accomodation and have had to rent private flats.
Last week, interviewed by Austrian state radio on 4 January, Schönborn said he favoured the classical concept of marriage and was against same sex marriage. Same-sex marriage became legal in Austria on 1 January.
“I personally remain by my conviction that marriage is a lasting relationship between a man and a woman which is open for new life. The generation succession is the most important thing. There are no generations without parents and without a family and without marriage,” he said.
That homosexual couples should want to get married could at the same time be interpreted as a positive sign, Schönborn pointed out. In view of the fact that so many couples these days lived together without getting married, it was astounding that “same sex couples want their relationship to be called a marriage at all cost. I would say that even if I disapprove of the legalisation of same sex marriage, it is somehow a strong sign that marriage is something prescious after all.”
Loading ...
