VIENNA, Austria (LifeSiteNews) — A priest with a record of heterodox activism will likely become the new archbishop of Vienna.
According to ORF Television, the Austrian national public broadcaster, 63-year-old Josef Grünwidl will be named as archbishop of Vienna after Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Cardinal Christoph Schönborn in January.
“The long wait for a new archbishop of Vienna is likely to come to an end soon: Josef Grünwidl, appointed apostolic administrator by the Vatican following the retirement of Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, is reportedly set to become his successor,” the article, translated from German, stated.
Grünwidl’s confirmation has yet to be confirmed by the Vatican. However, Grünwidl has been apostolic administrator of the vacant see of Vienna since January when Schönborn resigned.
During his time as a priest, Grünwidl has become known for his modernist stances, which includes encouragement of “female ordination” and attempts to decentralize authority within the Church as part of the leftist push for “synodality.”
He has publicly called for an “urgent need for clarification” on the “ordination” of women, specifically supporting further discussion and potential implementation of a “female diaconate.” He has also expressed openness to admitting women to the College of Cardinals and has appointed three women to the diocesan leadership team in Vienna.
Furthermore, the ORF reports that Grünwidl belonged to a heterodox group titled “Call to Disobedience” that openly pushed for “ordaining” women and married men as priests and giving Holy Communion to the divorced and “remarried” and non-Catholics, among other things, through a flagrant “call to disobedience.”
Grünwidl’s activism is in direct contradiction to the teachings of the Catholic Church, which reserves the vocation of priesthood to “baptized men.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that the Church is bound by Christ’s decision to ordain men to the priesthood and “for this reason the ordination of women is not possible.”
In another dissent from Church teaching, Grünwidl has previously stated that while he chose to remain celibate as a priest, the practice is “not a matter of faith” and should be left to the discretion of individual clergy.
At the same time, the Catechism clearly states that “all the ordained ministers of the Latin Church, with the exception of permanent deacons, are normally chosen from among men of faith who live a celibate life and who intend to remain celibate ‘for the sake of the kingdom of heaven’ and to devote themselves entirely to the service of God and the service of others.”
