Austrian Catholic Church Membership Rapidly Declining Over the Vatican's Deaf Ear to Modernity

"You can't redesign a religious community every day but you also can't pretend as if nothing has happened in 2,000 years..."  ~Parishioner, Erwin Bundschuh

By VERONIKA OLEKSYN

Historically a potent symbol of Catholicism in Europe, Austria has in recent years been known more as the center of a taboo-busting movement to liberalize the church.

Now, reformers here are ramping up their campaign for change amid worldwide outrage over the priest sex abuse scandal.

And while much of the push comes from the grassroots, the country's powerful cardinal recently caused a stir with strong gestures in support of reform, raising the stakes in the confrontation between the Vatican and dissidents pushing to allow priests to marry and women to be ordained.

What is particularly troubling for Rome is that Austria - which in past centuries was famous for being a bulwark against the Protestant Reformation - is losing worshippers in record numbers as calls for reform grow stronger.

Tens of thousands of Austrian Catholics - many of whom still consider themselves devout believers - are leaving the church each year, disgusted by the priestly sex abuse scandal and frustrated by what they see as the Catholic hierarchy's outdated ways.

For 76-year-old Erwin Bundschuh, who left the church about six weeks ago, the main problem today is an ivory tower mentality that rejects dialogue and cuts itself off from the realities of the modern day.

"You can't redesign a religious community every day but you also can't pretend as if nothing has happened in 2,000 years," said Bundschuh as he strolled past Vienna's famous St. Stephen's Cathedral. "There should be an open dialogue about certain things but it's always choked off."

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