Muslims Want ‘Islamic Conquest of Europe’, Austrian Cardinal Says (Debate)

Many Muslims would be glad to see Europe conquered by Islam, an Austrian cardinal and leading future candidate for the papacy said. He also warned that the Christian heritage of Europe risked disappearing, with the statements raising much controversy online.

Muslims Want ‘Islamic Conquest of Europe’, Austrian Cardinal Says

Many Muslims would be glad to see Europe conquered by Islam, an Austrian cardinal and leading future candidate for the papacy said. He also warned that the Christian heritage of Europe risked disappearing, with the statements raising much controversy online.

Viele Muslime wollen Eroberung Europas, dies besorgt Kardinal Schönborn

Schönborn: Europa verspielt sein christliches Erbe

KATHOLISCH.DE: Das Christentum in Europa sei besonders durch die Lauheit vieler Europäer bedrängt, warnt der Wiener Erzbischof Christoph Schönborn. Er sieht Parallelen zu einem einschneidenden historischen Ereignis.

Der Wiener Erzbischof Christoph Schönborn warnt vor einem Niedergang des Christentums in Europa. Der Kontinent sei "drauf und dran, sein christliches Erbe zu verspielen", sagte der Kardinal laut einem Bericht der Erzdiözese Wien bereits am vergangenen Sonntag. » | Österreich | Wien | Dienstag, 13. September 2016

'Muslims Want to Eradicate Christianity' and Conquer Europe Claims Potential Next Pope

EXPRESS: MUSLIMS want to eradicate Christianity and conquer Europe - the Catholic cardinal tipped to be the next POPE has incredibly claimed.

Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn gave the unexpected warning on Sunday during a special celebration for the Church festival "Holy Name of Mary".

According to the Archdiocese of Vienna, the Cardinal said: "Will there be an Islamic conquest of Europe? Many Muslims want that and say: Europe is at its end."

He asked God to have mercy on Europe and to show mercy to its people, which he said "are in danger of forfeiting our Christian heritage."

Cardinal Schoenborn, who is also the Archbishop of Vienna, explained that people could already feel this loss, "not only economically, but above all, in human and religious matters." » | Zoie O’Brien | Tuesday, September 13, 2016

RC Church & Gay Marriage: Shift in Tone
THE TABLET: Straws in the wind they may be, but signs are that the election of Pope Francis may have freed some Catholic prelates to depart from the party line on the issue of same-sex relationships. The line was established by Pope Emeritus Benedict when he was head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. With the approval of Pope John Paul II, he had declared that “legal recognition of homosexual unions or placing them on the same level as marriage would mean ... the approval of deviant behaviour”.

Speaking in London this week, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna urged that same-sex relationships should be respected and recognised in law. Meanwhile in Colombia, Cardinal Rubén Salazar said in the context of the gay-marriage debate in that country, “Other unions have the right to exist – no one can ask them not to.” Both cardinals were clear they oppose same-sex marriage, on the grounds that marriage can only exist between a man and a woman. As Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Pope Francis is reported to have expressed similar views to those of Cardinal Salazar. » | Editor | Saturday, April 13, 2013

Austria’s Schoenborn: A ‘Moderate’ Close to Benedict
GLOBAL POST: Hailing from a family of aristocrats, Austria's Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn is widely seen as a moderate figure in the Church but also shares the conservative values of his now-retired mentor Benedict XVI.

The tall, open-faced and oft-smiling archbishop of Vienna is one of the contenders to take over the papacy, although some have questioned the likelihood of a second consecutive German-speaking pope being chosen.

Well-liked and seen as a brilliant theologian, Schoenborn has described himself as "conservative on religious issues but liberal on social matters." » | Agence France-Presse | Thursday, March 07, 2013

"Papst - das wäre viel zu schwer für meinen Sohn"
KLEINE ZEITUNG: Kardinal Christoph Schönborn wird als einer der Favoriten für das Konklave gehandelt, das heute Nachmittag in Rom beginnt. Seine hochbetagte Mutter Eleonore Schönborn hofft indes, dass ihr Sohn nicht neuer Papst wird und erklärt im Interview, warum.

Kardinal Christoph Schönborns engste Familie, seine Mutter und seine drei Geschwister, erlebt derzeit bange Stunden. "Die ganze Familie hat Angst davor, dass Christoph zum Papst gewählt wird", gesteht die Mutter des Papst-Anwärters.

Eleonore Schönborn lebt hochbetagt in Schruns im Montafon in Vorarlberg, wo auch der für das Konklave hoch gehandelte Wiener Erzbischof nach der Flucht der Familie aus Böhmen aufgewachsen ist. Die 92-jährige Mutter hat die Abschiedsrede von Joseph Ratzinger gehört. "Er sagte, dass man als Papst voll und ganz der Kirche gehört. Da gibt es kein Privatleben mehr." Wenn ihr Sohn Papst würde, "dann ist es für mich vorbei. Dann seh ich den Christoph überhaupt nicht mehr. Denn ich habe nicht mehr die Kraft, nach Rom zu fahren." » | Dienstag, 12. März 2013

L’ESSENTIEL ONLINE: La mère d'un des papables ne veut pas qu'il soit élu : Eleonore Schönborn, mère du cardinal autrichien craint de ne plus le revoir si ce dernier est élu au Saint-Siège et qu'il ne se perde dans les intrigues vaticanes. » | L'essentiel Online/AFP | mardi 12 mars 2013

KLEINE ZEITUNG – FOTO GALERIE: Papst-Wahl: So wohnen die Kardinäle: Während dem Konklave wohnen die Kardinäle in der Casa Santa Marta. »

John Paul ‘Ignored Abuse of 2,000 Boys’
Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer abused an estimated 2,000 boys for decades without sanction. Photo: The Sunday Times
THE SUNDAY TIMES: When John Paul II died five years ago the crowd that packed St Peter’s Square for his funeral clamoured “Santo subito (Saint now)!” in a spontaneous tribute to the charisma of the Polish pontiff.

As the faithful marked the anniversary of John Paul’s death on Good Friday, however, he was being drawn into the scandal over child abuse in the Catholic church that has confronted his successor, Benedict XVI, with the worst crisis of his reign.

Allegations that the late pontiff blocked an inquiry into a paedophile cardinal, promoted senior church figures despite accusations that they had molested boys and covered up innumerable cases of abuse during his 26-year papacy have cast a cloud over his path to sainthood.

The most serious claims related to Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer, an Austrian friend of John Paul’s who abused an estimated 2,000 boys over decades but never faced any sanction from Rome.

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Groer’s successor, criticised the handling of that scandal and other abuse cases last week after holding a special service in St Stephen’s cathedral, Vienna, entitled “Admitting our guilt”.

Schönborn condemned the “sinful structures” within the church and the patterns of “silencing” victims and “looking away”.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger — who became Pope Benedict — had tried to investigate the abuses as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, according to Schönborn. But his efforts had been blocked by “the Vatican”, an apparent reference to John Paul. >>> Bojan Pancevski in Vienna and John Follain in Rome | Easter Sunday, April 04, 2010

Cardinal Schönborn Says Celibacy Partly to Blame for Clerical Sex Abuse
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn is seen as a future candidate for the papacy. Photo: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: A cardinal seen as a future candidate for the papacy has broken a Vatican taboo by raising the possibility that priestly celibacy is among the causes of the sex abuse scandal sweeping the Roman Catholic Church.

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the Archbishop of Vienna and a protégé of Pope Benedict XVI, wrote in his archdiocese's magazine this week that the Church must make an "unflinching examination" of the causes of the scandal.

He said that these included "the issue of priests' training, as well as the question of what happened in the so-called sexual revolution of the generation of 1968".

He added: "It also includes the question of priest celibacy and the question of personality development. It requires a great deal of honesty, both on the part of the Church and of society as a whole." >>> Richard Owen in Rome | Thursday, March 11, 2010

Cardinal Against FPÖ’s Use of Cross
WIENER ZEITUNG: Schönborn says cross is a ‘symbol of reconciliation’. / FPÖ unimpressed by all-round criticism.

Vienna. Viennese Archbishop Christoph Cardinal Schönborn has spoken out for the first time in the ongoing "hate debate” regarding the Freedom Party’s (FPÖ) controversial campaign for the European Parliament (EP) election.

Schönborn yesterday condemned the FPÖ’s use of the cross in their campaign, saying it was a "symbol of reconciliation,” after the right-wing party came under fire for using posters on which they said the Occi- dent needs to be preserved as a bastion of Christianity.

FPÖ leader Strache, who is warning of a growing "Islamisation” (meaning Muslims becoming more and more powerful) in Austria and Europe, refused to apologise for his statements and actions but accused other parties and the Catholic church of being "faint-hearted” and "cowardly”.

In his Ascension Day sermon at Vienna’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Schönborn warned the cross may not be misused as a "symbol for the fight against other religions or people”.

Strache was criticised for wielding a cross when holding a speech at a demonstration against the extension at an Islamic cultural centre in Vienna last week. He said at the demonstration that someone "needs to protect our Austria from these left-radicals who do not take people’s problems seriously”. Three people were taken into custody and six were taken away injured as left-wing counter-protestors fought with special police forces at the event. >>> By Thomas Hochwarter | From hardcopy, Friday, May 22, 2009