Pope expresses hope trip to Austria would help heal Catholics' wounds

Published: 2007-09-07

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE TO AUSTRIA (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI said he hoped his brief pilgrimage to Austria would help "heal the wounds" among Catholics who have faced their share of internal church problems in recent years. The pope, speaking to reporters Sept. 7 aboard his chartered jet to Vienna, expressed his gratitude to the Catholics who have remained in the church despite the "difficult times." "I want to say thank you for all those who have suffered in these last years," he said. "I hope I can help a bit in the healing of these wounds." In the mid-1990s, the We Are Church movement developed in Austria as an influential lay association that was highly critical of the hierarchy and urged changes in church positions on things like priestly celibacy and women's ordination. Later, a pornography and sex scandal in an Austrian seminary led to the resignation of a leading bishop. In the wake of those tensions, the number of Austrian Catholics has declined by 6 percent.

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