The pope’s choice for auxiliary bishop of Linz, Austria, has withdrawn his name from consideration after a firestorm erupted after the priest’s comments about Hurricane Katrina (which he said was God’s punishment on the people of New Orleans for their sins) and homosexuality (which he said was curable). Father Gerhard Maria Wagner, withdrew in the wake of criticism and a vote of no-confidence by 31 out of 39 senior priests in the diocese. The Times has the fallout from this decision, as well as from some of the other recent debacles the Vatican has been facing (including SSPX and Maciel). Dave Gibson at Dotcommonweal, posted a helpful summary of the Linz mess, entitled "Vox Populi Moves Vatican," to which Robert Mickens, the Vatican correspondent, demurred, saying that it was in fact the "vox cleri" that did it in the end.
An irony: Pope Benedict XVI’s election was hailed as a move that would place in Chair of St. Peter, after 25 years, a man with extensive experience working in the Curia, and a deep knowledge of Romanita, and how to get things done. No longer, Vaticanistas said, would the Curia be as haphazardly managed as it was under Pope John Paul II, who was, it was said, more concerned with matters outside the church.
What happened?
James Martin, SJ
