Austrian cardinal praises late president as 'man of peace'

Published: 2004-07-09

OXFORD, England (CNS) -- Austrian President Thomas Klestil, who died July 6 shortly before completing a second six-year term, was recalled by an Austrian cardinal as "a man of peace." "He was a man of peace and agreement, an undeterred worker for the commonweal, and a co-Christian," said Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna, president of the Austrian bishops' conference. "He was also a bridge-builder who emphasized the one ecumenical commonality which the Christian churches in Austria had built together," the cardinal said at a July 8 session of the Austrian Parliament. Cardinal Schonborn offered last rites to Klestil the morning the president died. Klestil, 71, who was elected president in 1992, was widely credited with restoring Austria's international standing after revelations surrounding the wartime past of his predecessor, Kurt Waldheim, a former U.N. secretary-general.

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