Dear Cardinal Christoph Schönborn:
The Episcopal Church welcomes you!
Have a great time on the slippery slope...
nanetteclaret (formerECUSA)
My thoughts exactly! LOL! I thought how funny it would be if, in response, he just scribbled down the address to their local Austrian Episcopal Church and say, I think they have all you desire right there.
Hold on. Let’s not jump to conclusions:
Obligatory celibacy for Latin-rite priests is one of the church disciplines that have been questioned publicly and repeatedly in Austria. Cardinal Schonborn said he gave Cardinal Claudio Hummes, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, a copy of a letter from a group of influential lay Catholics suggesting that the celibacy requirement be dropped because of a shortage of priests.
Cardinal Schonborn told Vatican Radio, “Despite the fact that I do not agree with some of the initiative’s conclusions, frankly I believe that it is important that people in Rome know what some of our laypeople are thinking.”
The cardinal said Pope Benedict has been “very impressive” in explaining how the continued requirement of celibacy for priests in the Latin-rite “ultimately is a question of whether we believe that it is possible for a man to give his life entirely to God” in serving the church and his brothers and sisters.
The cardinal said the pope has emphasized that the discipline of celibacy is not motivated by “mistrust of or a disregard for marriage,” but is a positive response to Christ’s call for total dedication for the sake of his kingdom.
http://www.uscatholic.org/news/2009/06/pope-meets-leaders-austrian-church-discuss-current-problems