European papers say Schönborn may be
Vatican education chief
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
NCR Staff
Media reports in Austria and Italy say that Cardinal Christoph
Schönborn of Vienna is the leading candidate to replace Italian Cardinal
Pio Laghi as head of the Congregation for Catholic Education in Rome.
At 77, Laghi is two years past the official retirement age for
bishops. His office has played a key role in negotiations over a new set of
norms for Catholic higher education in the United States.
Though Austrian sources say they take the reports seriously,
anticipating Vatican appointments is always guesswork. At different times some
of the same media outlets have mentioned Schönborn as a possible successor
to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith.
While there has been no comment from the Vatican, and
Schönborns spokesperson said the rumors about Schönborns
replacing Laghi are built entirely on air, the leading daily
newspaper in Vienna, Die Presse, reported May 18 that Schönborn has
quietly indicated a successor in preparation for a possible move to Rome:
Augustinian Abbot Gregor Henckel-Donnersmark.
Several Italian newspapers have also reported in recent weeks that
Schönborn, 54, is under consideration for Laghis job.
The son of old European nobility, Schönborn has traveled
widely and is fluent in several languages, including English. Sources who know
Schönborn say he is a doctrinal conservative, a keen thinker and open to
dialogue, but also someone unlikely to assert pastoral interests against
Vatican directives.
Schönborns reputation as an administrator has been
tarnished in recent months by perceived gaffes ranging from the way he fired
his popular vicar general (by placing a note on his doorstep) to his failure to
reprimand ultraconservative Bishop Kurt Krenn of Sankt Pölten, whose
abrasive style has alienated many Austrians.
More generally, many Austrians say they have been disappointed by
Schönborns resistance to the reforms in the church called for by the
Dialogue for Austria, a special national assembly of Catholics that convened in
Salzburg in October 1998 (NCR, Nov. 6, 1998).
Unlike Laghi, whose background is as a church diplomat,
Schönborn would bring to the Vatican post a long history of involvement in
educational issues. In a news conference two years ago, Schönborn told
reporters, If theres one thing Im really interested in,
its education.
A Dominican, Schönborn did his postgraduate work in theology
under then-professor Joseph Ratzinger at the University of Regensburg in
Germany. He later joined the faculty at the Dominican University of Fribourg in
Switzerland and served on the International Theological Commission, a body that
advises the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
John Paul II tapped Schönborn in 1988 to serve as editorial
secretary for the new Catechism of the Catholic Church, published in
1992. He was named auxiliary bishop of Vienna in 1991, made archbishop in 1995
and entered the college of cardinals in 1998.
During the early 1990s, Schönborn served as chancellor of the
Medo Institute in Holland, a conservative center of theological studies
launched in 1990 as a counterweight to established Catholic theology programs
in northern European universities.
In many European nations, Catholic theology is taught at state-run
universities, often without any direct control over curricula or faculty
appointments by the local bishop. Conservatives have complained that this lack
of episcopal oversight has led to secularization and a tolerance for
dissent.
After opposition in Holland forced the institute to relocate in
1994, Schönborn welcomed it to Austria under the name of the
International Theological Institute for Studies on Marriage and the
Family. It operates out of a renovated Carthusian monastery in Gaming,
Austria, with Schönborn designated by John Paul II as its grand
chancellor.
The institute receives some funding from the U.S. bishops
conference.
Schönborns most direct link with American Catholic
higher education comes through the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio,
known for its strongly traditionalist stance on church matters. Steubenville
operates an Austrian branch campus out of the same Gaming site as the
International Theological Institute. In April 1997, Schönborn traveled to
the United States to receive an honorary doctorate from Steubenville for his
work on the Catechism.
Schönborn is an enthusiastic backer of the new
movements in the church, such as the Legionaries of Christ, Focolare and
the Neocatechumenate. A key adviser to Schönborn, Therese Henesberger, is
a Neocatechumenate member. In 1997, Schönborn authored an article for
LOsservatore Romano defending the new movements against charges
that they amount to sects within the church.
One of Schönborns closest American contacts is Jesuit
Fr. Joseph Fessio, head of Ignatius Press in San Francisco, who studied under
Ratzinger along with Schönborn in Regensburg.
Fessio predicted that if Schönborn replaces Laghi,
Schönborn will continue to press concerns for the Catholicity of
church-affiliated universities in the United States. He would surely be
interested in the Catholic character of any institution, Fessio told
NCR.
But hes not a head-basher, Fessio said. I
think Americans would find him very open to dialogue.
National Catholic Reporter, May 28,
1999
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