Pope asks Austrian Bishops for fidelity

(June, 17, 2009) Pope Benedict XVI has asked the bishops of Austria for authentic fidelity to the Second Vatican Council and the magisterium. The Pope spoke with the bishops delegation led by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna and president of the Episcopal Conference, during meetings at the Vatican on Monday and Tuesday. The meetings were attended as well by members of the Roman Curia, including Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
During the meetings, themes that affect the situation of the Diocese of Linz and the Church in Austria were taken up “with fraternal dialogue and a constructive spirit”, presenting solutions for the current problems, according to a statement from the Vatican. "The Holy Father recalled the urgency of going deeper in the faith and the integral fidelity to the Second Vatican Council and the post-conciliar magisterium of the Church, and of the renewal of catechesis in the light of the Catechism of the Catholic Church," the Vatican statement said. It added that there were also discussions of doctrinal and pastoral questions and of the situation of the clergy, the laity, the major seminaries and the theological faculties in Linz and in other dioceses of Austria.
The Austrian bishops thanked the Holy Father for his paternal solicitude and for the meeting showing a sign of his closeness to the Church in Austria. They assured him of their full communion and affection. The Austrian bishops also thanked the Roman Curia for the fruitful collaboration and availability."