Sex and Porn Scandal Hits Austrian Catholic Seminary
July 13, 2004
The worldwide scandal involving allegations of sexual abuse aimed at practicing priests within the Catholic Church has surfaced in Austria after pictures of senior church officials caressing and kissing student priests at a seminary were published in an Austrian magazine.
The weekly Profil magazine reported that, along with the pictures printed in the issue, thousands more photographs showing acts of pedophilia and bestiality had been discovered on computers, as well as numerous pornographic films in an investigation into the Sankt Pölten seminary, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Vienna.
It was also reported that the investigation was instigated after priests decided to put an end to years of silence about the activities that went on at the seminary. Ulrich Küchl, the seminary director, has already resigned and his deputy, Wolfgang Rothe, was quoted by the magazine as saying he would also resign, without admitting any guilt. Profil said both Küchl and Rothe had homosexual relations with students, using pedophile photos for stimulation.
Church leaders call for Bishop to go
Both men are said to be close to the Bishop of Sankt Pölten, Kurt Krenn, who said a picture showing Rothe kissing a young seminarian had "absolutely nothing to do with homosexuality", and was merely the kind of "idiocy" boys get up to. Austrian radio reports have revealed that senior church figures were on the point of petitioning the Vatican to remove Bishop Krenn.
Gay relations between consenting adults is not illegal in Austria, but a church official said the seminary directors might have abused their positions to put pressure on students. The magazine wrote that it is the most serious scandal in the Austrian Catholic church since Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer was forced to resign in 1995 over allegations of pedophilia.
The revelations come hard on the heels of more cases of alleged abuse coming to light in the United States and a report by the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales that shows that 52 priests and church workers were accused of sexual abuse against children last year.