Vatican Sends Investigator to Austrian Seminary

OXFORD, England — Final decisions on resolving the sex scandal surrounding Austria's Sankt Polten Diocese could take till late September, according to an Austrian church source.

"While church leaders are highly sensitive to all such issues now, this case involves serious charges of child pornography and has been reported all over the world," said the source, who spoke by telephone with Catholic News Service but asked that his name not be used.

"At the same time, conservative Catholics are often very critical of homosexual practices. They won't wish to be associated with a bishop who is known for his conservative outlook but fails to take a stand on this issue," the source said.

The Catholic source spoke July 21 as Bishop Klaus Kung of Feldkirch, Austria, began work after being named by Pope John Paul II to investigate the Sankt Polten Diocese and, particularly, the seminary.

The source said Catholic priests from the diocese had voiced misgivings after the 2002 appointment of Father Ulrich Kuchl as seminary rector, while a group of seminarians also had complained unsuccessfully to Sankt Polten Bishop Kurt Krenn about senior staffers in November 2003.

Father Kuchl and the seminary vice rector, Father Wolfgang Rothe, resigned after they were featured in photos of priests and seminarians kissing and fondling each other. The photos were published in the July 11 issue of the Vienna newsmagazine Profil. Austrian authorities said the images had been found along with more than 40,000 photos and videos — including child pornography — on seminary computers.

"Far from being new, this crisis has long festered, so it's hardly surprising the problems have escalated," the church source told CNS.

"What was important for the Austrian bishops was that the Vatican reacted quickly, and it (the situation) wasn't allowed to drag on for months in the media," he said.

In a July 20 interview with Austria's Kathpress agency, Bishop Kung said he had accepted his papal appointment "with a heavy heart" and would begin talks immediately "with the bishops and all those responsible for the diocese."

"It isn't a question of shaking, but of strengthening the trust the faithful have for the church and Holy Father," Bishop Kung said.

"I'll certainly intervene where necessary, so as to be certain every aspect is studied exactly and it's made clear what happened. Then I'll decide what can be done," he said.

Meanwhile, the president of the Austrian bishops' conference, Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna, described the pope's move as an "exceptional and rarely used method" and said he hoped Bishop Kung could "work peacefully and decisively" in "quickly considering all the problems and accusations."

He added that the bishops' conference and Archbishop Giorgio Zur, apostolic nuncio to Austria, had "warned for months" that Bishop Krenn was "dangerously ignoring the rules of recruitment" by admitting students to the Sankt Polten seminary without checking why they had been rejected elsewhere.

"We all know and feel with pain that this cleansing process has been necessary," Cardinal Schonborn told Austria's ORF state TV news July 20. "Many people are worried, disappointed, alarmed and downright angry."

In his CNS interview, the church source said the bishops' conference had "urged a Vatican reaction," but had not specified what measures should be taken.

"It's important to understand that Catholic clergy and seminarians are discredited in Austria now — every young man who says he wants to be a priest will be asked if he's a homosexual or child abuser," the source told CNS.

"Those responsible have created a grave situation for us, and it would be surprising if Bishop Krenn doesn't resign. But it could take till late September for (Bishop Kung) to complete his duties and for the relevant reports to be handed to Rome," the source said.

He said priests and seminarians in Sankt Polten had been encouraged to "go public" after failing to persuade church leaders to take action. However, he added that Profil had obtained material from a disgruntled seminarian who had been barred from ordination.

The source said the charging of a 27-year-old Polish seminarian with possession and distribution of child pornography could tarnish the image of the many Polish clergy working in Austria.

However, he added that several students from neighboring Germany had also "faced problems" after returning from seminary studies in Sankt Polten.

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