AUSTRIA: Vienna Cardinal says Church is gulity in abuse scandal, seeks forgiveness

Record ID: 334601

  • Title: AUSTRIA: Vienna Cardinal says Church is gulity in abuse scandal, seeks forgiveness
  • Date: 1st April 2010
  • Summary: VIENNA, AUSTRIA (MARCH 31, 2010) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF ST STEPHEN'S CATHEDRAL PEOPLE OUTSIDE CATHEDRAL GROUP OF YOUNGSTERS PASSING BY THE CATHEDRAL (SOUNDBITE) (German) VIENNESE MAN, WHO GAVE ONLY HIS LAST NAME, JODELBAUER, SAYING: "Such things should of course not happen, and if they do, they should be brought to justice, not swept under the carpet." SOUNDBITE) (German) RESIDENT OF VIENNA, EVA, SAYING: "Strictly speaking, the Catholic church is an association, but my faith in a higher power, in Jesus Christ, is absolutely not shaken by this." POLICE IN FRONT OF CHURCH SOUNDBITE) (German) RESIDENT OF VIENNA, EVA, CONTINUES, SAYING: "These people whether they are in a school or boarding school, they should be removed from there, we keep hearing they were just transferred to another school, this is just not right, because you cannot take this instinct out of a person." STATUE ON FACADE OF THE CHURCH PEOPLE LIGHTING CANDLES VIENNA CARDINAL CHRISTOPH SCHOENBORN AND REPRESENTATIVES OF VICTIMS GROUPS STANDING IN FRONT OF CRUCIFIX CARDINAL LOOKING AT THE CRUCIFIX , SURROUNDED BY INCENSE CRUCIFIX CARDINAL AND OTHERS ON THE PULPIT CHURCHGOER LISTENING TO SERVICE (SOUNDBITE) (German) CARDINAL SCHOENBORN, SAYING: "This hour, we stand before the cross, the cross made from the medieval sprout, the arbor vitae of Christ, to bring forth charges, to admit guilt, and to ask for forgiveness." WIDE VIEW OF CONGREGATION (SOUNDBITE) (German) WOMAN REPRESENTING VICTIMS GROUP, SAYING: "When he was 19, he decided to study theology, and he had to go to another city. He found accommodation in a monastery, In that monastery, he was victim of sexual violence by a priest." NUN LISTING TO SERVICE MAN FROM VICTIMS' GROUP WALKING UP TO PULPIT SOUNDBITE) (German) MAN SPEAKING, SAYING: "Again and again, my bad experiences attack me, they grow enormous in front of my eyes." VIEW OF CONGREGATION SOUNDBITE) (German) MAN SPEAKING, SAYING: "Wake up and come to me, look over here, you Lord who are great." PEOPLE STANDING LISTENING TO THE SERVICE SOUNDBITE) (German) VIENNA CARDINAL CHRISTOPH SCHOENBORN SPEAKING, SAYING: "We confess, that we darkened and betrayed the name of God, which is love. Some of us spoke of the love of God, and did evil to those who most needed protection." MAN PRAYING SOUNDBITE) (German) VIENNA CARDINAL CHRISTOPH SCHOENBORN SAYING: "We admit to you, Lord, and to each other, our guilt." WOMAN PRAYING IN CONGREGATION (NIGHT SHOTS) EXTERIOR OF ST STEPHEN'S CATHEDRAL
  • Embargoed: 16th April 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Austria
  • Country: Austria
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVATLLCESC8Y6TIYP8DWPQ4MIWA
  • Story Text: "We confess, that we darkened and betrayed the name of God, which is love. Some of us spoke of the love of God, and did evil to those who most needed protection," Vienna Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn said in a mass ahead of Easter dedicated to child sexual abuse victims at Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral on Wednesday (March 31).
    The St. Stephen's Cathedral was packed and the atmosphere was solemn and charged, as Cardinal Schoenborn was joined on the pulpit by members of lay groups and abuse victims. While the tourists that mostly wander around the gothic cathedral were asked to remain outside, the pews were full of people of all ages as well as many priests and nuns. The Cardinal, who mingled among the congregation before Mass started, was unusually strong in his wording, opening the sermon with a clear admission of guilt on the part of the Catholic Church leadership, and a call for forgiveness from God and the public.
    "This hour, we stand before the cross, the cross made from the medieval sprout, the arbor vitae of Christ, to bring forth charges, to admit guilt, and to ask for forgiveness," the Cardinal said in his address.
    There have been frequent reports of child sexual abuse in Austrian Catholic institutions since the arch-abbot of Salzburg's St. Peter's monastery quit earlier this month after admitting to sexually abusing a boy 40 years ago.
    Brought into the prominent Vienna position after his predecessor quit amid sexual abuse charges in 1995, Schoenborn has been one of the most open prelates towards victims' abuse groups and regularly speaks out on debates surrounding the Church.
    Last week he appointed a lay woman, a former Styrian People's Party governor, Waltraud Klasnic, to head an independent commssion to investigate recent abuse claims against the country's Catholic Church.
    While Schoenborn sat mostly with his head bowed and his hands wringing in his lap during the mass, people went on the pulpit to read stories of abuse, helplessness and disillusionment, as well as fury and bitterness at the Church's cover-up over decades. The speakers, visibly moved, spoke of personal nightmares, social stigma and the hypocrisy of both society and the church, often repeating in their speeches the theme of the sermon which was entitled: "God, we are furious."
    "Again and again, my bad experiences attack me, they grow enormous in front of my eyes. Wake up and come to me, look over here, you Lord who are great," said one man in his address.
    Recent reports of sexual abuse of children in Catholic Church institutions in several European countries have shaken the Vatican and led to calls for an end to priestly celibacy, a cleanout of the Catholic Church hierarchy and even the resignation of the Pope.
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