The situation created by the scandal in the seminary of Sankt Pölten prompted the ten Austrian diocesan bishops (including the military ordinary) to gather for an informal meeting at Mariazell on 22 July. During the meeting, the bishops expressed their “full support” for the apostolic Visitator, Msgr. Klaus Küng, appointed by the Vatican to ascertain who is responsible, and who to blame, for the situation. Interviewed by the Austrian Catholic press agency Kathpress, Cardinal Schönborn, president of the Austrian Episcopal Conference and archbishop of Vienna, praised the “encouraging rapidity” with which Msgr. Küng is performing his task. Discussion at Mariazell also focused on the question of the formation of priests and in particular on the conditions for admission to seminaries; the bishops rejected the accusations of alleged superficiality as “unjust and utterly misplaced”. They also discussed the implementation of the “message of Mariazell” issued by the Bishops’ Conference in May on the occasion of the “pilgrimage of peoples” to the Marian sanctuary; in this sense, said Schönborn, “the crisis of Sankt Pölten must not discourage us in continuing to promote sound reforms in the ecclesiastical sector”.
