Pope Soothes Austrian Church After Bishop Furore

It is virtually unheard of in the church for the pope to be forced to retract an appointment of a bishop.

Pope Benedict has moved to smooth relations with the Austrian clergy after he was forced to cancel the promotion of a conservative priest from the country in March whose appointment had polarised the Catholic Church. On Monday and Tuesday the pope and senior Vatican officials met with the archbishops of Vienna and Salzburg, the bishops of Graz-Seckau and Linz and several other senior members of the Austrian church, the Vatican said in a statement.

The meeting tackled "in fraternal dialogue and a constructive spirit, several subjects regarding the situation of the diocese of Linz and the church in Austria, setting out solutions to the current problems," the Vatican said.

In March, the pope effectively revoked the appointment of Gerhard Maria Wagner from his appointment as auxiliary (assistant) bishop of Linz which had caused an uproar in Austria and beyond because of Wagner's controversial views.

It is virtually unheard of in the church for the pope to be forced to retract an appointment of a bishop.

Critics had attacked Wagner for numerous statements he had made, including one in which he said Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was God's way of punishing the city of New Orleans for its sins.

He also condemned the Harry Potter books as satanic, said homosexuality was curable, refused to allow women ministers in his church and ruled out lay participation in church affairs.

The affair put a spotlight on the Vatican's vetting process and what critics say is insufficient consultation in the church.

Soon after Wagner was appointed, 31 of the 39 deans (senior priests) in the Linz diocese passed a declaration of no confidence in Wagner, a rare event in the tightly governed Catholic Church and effectively an open revolt against the pope.

Austrian church leaders said the decision to appoint him as bishop was taken without consultation.

Faced with rising numbers of Austrian Catholics quitting the church and protests from clergy, Vienna Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn was forced to call an emergency meeting of Austrian bishops to overcome the crisis of confidence with the Vatican.