The parish priest of Stützenhofen, Austria, who disallowed the election of a gay man to the parish council, is seeking a new assignment after his archbishop, the cardinal of Vienna, overruled his decision, according to this report from the Austrian Independent.
The story in a nutshell: Last month, Florian Stangl, 26, won a landslide election to the parish council, but Fr. Gerhard Swierzek would not allow him to take office because Stangl is gay and is in a registered civil partnership with a man. Stangl appealed to Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna; Stangl and his partner and Schönborn had lunch together, and the cardinal told Stanglt take up the post.
For more see this and this and this.
Now, according to this story in the Austrian Independent, Swierzek is seeking a new assignment because he can no longer serve effectively in Stützenhofen and he opposes the "sinful lifestyle" of some members of the local Catholic community.
Advertisement
Advertisement
