Austrian church official dismisses fears of drastic drop in members

Published: 2004-08-26

OXFORD, England (CNS) -- An Austrian church official has dismissed fears of a drastic drop in church membership in the wake of a child pornography scandal at a Catholic seminary, but acknowledged many Catholics had been angered by the incidents. "We are sad for each person who leaves the church, and we try to maintain contact and dialogue with them," said Erich Leitenberger, spokesman for the Austrian bishops' conference. "But efforts are being made with great care and feeling to re-establish order in the affected diocese, through in-depth interviews with local lay people, clergy, politicians, journalists and others." Statistics published Aug. 20 by Austria's Die Presse daily suggested the number of Catholics leaving the church had increased sharply after the scandal in the Sankt Polten Diocese. In an Aug. 24 telephone interview, Leitenberger said the bishops' conference had received "many angry telephone calls and e-mails" from Catholics.

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