(LifeSiteNews) — An Austrian bishop has appointed an openly homosexual and civilly “married” man as his personal secretary.
As a report by the blog Novus Ordo Watch revealed, Bishop Johannes Freitag, auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Graz-Steckau, has hired Domenik Kainzinger-Webern as his private secretary. Freitag was appointed auxiliary bishop of Graz-Steckau on January 31, 2025, by Pope Francis.
A picture on Kainzinger-Webern partner’s Instagram profile shows the two of them commemorating their fourth “wedding” anniversary. A picture on the website of Salinenmusik Altaussee documents their ceremony, which took place on July 21, 2018.
Before becoming Freitag’s secretary, Kainzinger-Webern worked as the secretary general of the Jewish community in Graz, as an archived version of the website indicates. It is unclear whether or not he subscribes to the tenets of Judaism, the Catholic faith, or another creed.
The diocese’s website lists Kainzinger-Webern as the secretary and master of ceremonies for Freitag.
Kainzinger-Webern also has professional tailoring skills and has showcased them by designing the costumes for an Austrian LGBT “Pride” event called Tuntenball, as a report in Panthera magazine from February 2016 reveals.
The Catholic Church teaches the following regarding homosexual acts:
Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.” They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2357)
LifeSiteNews has reached out to Freitag for comment via email, but has not received a reply by time of publication.
The Diocese of Graz-Steckau is headed by Bishop Wilhelm Krautwaschl who, in December 2023, welcomed the Vatican document on same-sex “blessings,” Fiducia Supplicans.
“Anyone who asks for a blessing shows that he or she or both need the saving presence of God, and this blessing must not be denied,” Krautwaschl said.
The Austrian prelate argued that the latest Vatican document is a continuation of the manner of “pastoral care” practiced by Pope Francis since his post-synodal letter Amoris Laetitia, which appeared to give authority to Communion for the divorced and “remarried.”
