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REFORMIST Priest from Austria Scheduled to Speak Here As Part of U.S. Tour

By Michael O'Malley
Plain Dealer
July 18, 2013

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2013/07/post_160.html

The Rev. Helmut Schuller of Vienna, Austria, is scheduled to speak in Cleveland

An Austrian priest, recently banned from speaking at a Catholic church in Boston because of his challenges to church teachings, is scheduled to give two talks here next week.

The Rev. Helmut Schuller, who supports the ordination of women, married priests and empowering Catholic laity, is scheduled to lecture in Independence and Cleveland as part of a 15-city tour of the United States that began Tuesday in New York City.

The tour is sponsored by 10 U.S. liberal Catholic reform groups, including Lakewood-based FutureChurch.

Schuller of Vienna had been scheduled to speak Wednesday at St. Susanna Catholic Church in Boston, but Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley forbid the event, telling the Boston Globe that he will not allow anyone speaking on church property who advocates beliefs in conflict with church doctrine.

Schuller's talk was moved to a nearby Unitarian Universalist church.

The Austrian priest is scheduled to speak in Northeast Ohio at 7 p.m. July 25 at Independence Middle School, 6111 Archwood Ave. and at noon on July 26 at the Cleveland City Club, 850 Euclid Ave. Reservations are required for the City Club event and can be made by calling 216-621-0082.

In the face of a priest shortage, Schuller has been calling on the Vatican in Rome to consider ordaining women and allowing priests to marry.

He also supports offering Holy Communion to divorced-remarried Catholics, who currently are forbidden to take the sacrament. And he calls for the Catholic laity to have a major role in church governance.

"He's about empowering lay folks," said FutureChurch director Sister Christine Schenk. "We believe Father Schuller is an important voice that needs to be on the public stage."

Schuller is scheduled to speak Monday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Citing a recent study by the National Federation of Priests' Councils, Schenk said that for every 100 priests who retire, only 30 are available to replace them.

One result of the priest shortage, she said, is the closing of churches recently seen in Cleveland and throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.

"We can't sacrifice the Catholic people on the altar of the male celibate priesthood," said Schenk.

 

 

 

 

 




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