SANCTIFYING OFFICE

Liturgy as Divine Service

For Cardinal Schönborn, the Church is both “end and means, the final goal of the plan of creation and at the same time ‘a kind of sacrament or sign and instrument of intimate union with God and of the unity of the whole human race’ (LG 1).”

Cardinal Schönborn described his views on the liturgy in a 2005 interview. When asked about Hans Hermann Groër, and customized Masses — those in which prayers and other elements are changed — the cardinal replied: “The faithful are entitled to participate in a celebration of the liturgy that is valid in the community of the Church Universal.”

He said the “deepest reason for this liturgical order is the fact that this is a Divine Service, i.e. in the Christian service it is God himself turning to mankind first, Christ himself is the celebrant.” When asked which elements of the Holy Mass are changeable, he replied: “Quite some places allow for creativity” but that the Church “holds unambiguously to the fact that the Eucharistic Prayer, which is the core of the Eucharist, is not at disposal for private compositions.”

He noted frequent complaints that the participation of the faithful in the Eucharistic Prayer is missing. “This can only be due to a misunderstanding,” he said “It is the prayer of the Church spoken by the priest [and him alone] for the whole Church.”

In the excerpt “What Is Liturgy?” from his book Living the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Schönborn writes about the subject fully in continuity with the Church’s discipline and tradition:

The liturgy is “the summit towards which all the Church’s activity is directed.” No ordinary event in the Church’s life, the liturgy is the commemoration, initiated and indeed celebrated by Christ himself, of his saving death and resurrection. As the “work of God,” liturgy effects our salvation, leading us to the Father as we respond to him in love and praise. The liturgy is like a fountain in which the living wellspring, that is Christ, is contained and given to us to drink.¹Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, “What Is Liturgy?,” in Living the Catechism of the Catholic Church: A Brief Commentary on the Catechism for Every Week of the Year, vol. 2, The Sacraments (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2000)

Lack of Liturgical Discipline

And yet despite these sublime reflections upon the Mass, Cardinal Schönborn has often exhibited a lack of liturgical discipline. For example, at a Mass he celebrated at the Church of St. Florian in the Archdiocese of Vienna on October 9, 2005, for the opening of the first “Youth Church” in the archdiocese, he consecrated a pita-bread-type of host.

On November 16, 2008, Cardinal Schönborn presided at a “Youth Mass” in Wolfsthal near Vienna. Balloons, a rock band, smoke machines, a projection screen, and a light show were used during Mass, and Cardinal Schönborn again consecrated pita bread, which was distributed to those present in the hand. Congregants could be seen consuming the host a bite at a time. After international criticism of the consecration of pita bread, the Archdiocese of Vienna issued a press release, in which it stated that the “Youth Mass” had “in no way violated the liturgical regulations of the Catholic Church” because “the Eucharistic bread was unleavened.”²“Bad News from Vienna — Update: With the Icebreaker to Liturgical Nirvana,” Motu Proprio: Summorum Pontificum, 20 November 2008

 Under his watch, “Youth Masses” in the Archdiocese of Vienna ran from 2003 to 2011. Highlights from these Masses, which were held in churches throughout the diocese, were compiled into an official twenty-minute video. Throughout the video of these Masses, Cardinal Schönborn is seen sending text messages during Mass. Priests are wearing psychedelic vestments; there are crowd surfing, heavy-metal rock music, lasers and strobe lights, artificial smoke, flame throwers, and balloons. Superstitious “care dolls” make an appearance, as does a graphic pornographic magazine (held up by a priest during a homily).

Further blasphemy was promoted by him when, in the summer of 2010, an American West–themed Mass was celebrated in Austria. Cardinal Schönborn gave explicit approval for this event and sent his personal greeting and blessing to those present. The Mass featured an integrated barbecue with people eating, drinking, and smoking at picnic tables. The Mass took place in the context of the Donauinselfest, a festival organized by the Viennese socialists on the Danube island. “All baptized Christians” were invited to receive Holy Communion. In 2011, in response to international protests against the “Western Mass,” Cardinal Schönborn canceled the Holy Mass two days before it was scheduled to take place. In 2018, Schönborn faced criticism for attending a pro-LGBT event in the Vienna cathedral featuring a shirtless pro-homosexual actor standing on the altar rail as well as loud rock and electronic music, and actors dressed as demons. “The Jedermann (Everyman) play depicted a wealthy man in his last hours of life who realizes that neither his friends nor his money follow him in death. He then converts to Christianity.” The event, sponsored by the Order of Malta, Austria, and organized by a homosexual activist, was in aid of AIDS sufferers. Cardinal Schönborn was not deterred by the criticism, and the following year, he allowed the same benefit concert to take place in the Vienna cathedral, this time featuring the Austrian drag queen Conchita Wurst. It was the third year running in which Schönborn had allowed such a benefit concert in the cathedral. Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò denounced the event as sacrilegious and blasphemous and implored, through Mary’s intercession, the Lord’s forgiveness.

Open to Women Deacons?

Women already preside over funeral rituals in the Archdiocese of Vienna, by express decree of Cardinal Schönborn. In 2019, he brought this up as a pertinent fact to illustrate the sorts of new ministries envisioned for the Church in the Amazon synod, saying, “They do so in a traditional Austrian Catholic environment and they are well accepted.”

Schönborn has been firmly against the ordination of women as priests, but he has expressed an openness to the female diaconate. In 2018, he told an Austrian news site that “there were deaconesses in the first centuries, which could be reintroduced.”

However, after Pope Francis gave an interview in 2024 in which he said a clear “no” to ordaining women as deaconesses, Schönborn said he was “deeply convinced that the Church cannot and must not change this, because it must keep the mystery of women present in an unadulterated way.” (This is discussed further below).

Vetus Ordo (Old Latin Mass)

 Although he will sing the Mass in Latin, and despite his close friendship with Benedict XVI, the cardinal is not known to be a friend of the old rite. Most Austrian bishops believe the form is not to be encouraged, but it is not prohibited, and several Latin Masses can be found in the Vienna Archdiocese.

In general, Cardinal Schönborn supports a liturgical style that incorporates both traditional and modern elements, reflecting his broader approach to Church matters, which combines respect for tradition with openness to dialogue and reform. He has not spoken about Traditionis Custodes. 

GOVERNING OFFICE

Diplomacy and Dialogue

Since his installation as Vienna’s archbishop in 1995, Cardinal Schönborn has “weathered several major storms with his patient pastoral approach,” Catholic News Service reported in 2013.

The news agency, run by the U.S. bishops, also praised Schönborn’s “diplomatic and administrative abilities” to “create an atmosphere of openness and dialogue,” no matter the issue, whether it be “clergy dissenting over Church teachings, massive parish closings or the scandal of clerical sex abuse.” “Nothing can replace the personal meeting, contact and witness — listening and witnessing; we have to look at how Jesus did it. He is the master of evangelization,” Schönborn told Canada’s Salt and Light TV during the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization.

When the Vienna Archdiocese announced plans in 2018 to reduce its parishes by more than 75 percent over the next ten years, Cardinal Schönborn accentuated the positive. He said the reorganization, prompted by falling numbers of clergy and laity, would help pool resources, reduce administration, and “leave more time for evangelization.” “We have to free ourselves of the traditional image that the Church is present only where there’s a priest and stress the common priesthood of all baptized.” Schönborn denied he was suggesting “priestless eucharistic liturgies” (as a group of Austrian priests were requesting). He said that he was aiming for a reinvigoration of the sense of mission, where the baptized give true witness to their faith at work, at home, in society, and in small Christian communities.

Handling Sexual Abuse

The cardinal dealt with the reality of sexual abuse by clergy at the start of his tenure as archbishop. Named coadjutor archbishop in the spring of 1995, Schönborn replaced the archbishop, Cardinal Hans Hermann Groër, just five months later, after the late cardinal was forced to step down amid allegations by former students that he had sexually abused them in the 1970s. Cardinal Schönborn was initially defensive of Groër but gained respect by later more fully confronting the extent of the crisis.

He has spoken frankly about sexual abuse, describing it in 2019 as a “massive reality” in both the family and the Church. He appears to agree with Benedict XVI that the sexual revolution that began around 1968 led to such abuses, but he also blames the crisis on the “closed nature of the system” in the Church before the Second Vatican Council and the “exaggerated authority” of the priest that existed then.

In 2019, he said “certain people in the Vatican lied” about sexual abuse by prominent prelates, adding that it had been “shattering” for him to learn about abuse by Cardinal Groer, and to notice that abuse “often begins in the confessional.”

Schönborn believes the new spiritual movements have also been particularly susceptible and refers to “guru behaviour” of people such as Cardinal Groër and movement founders such as Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legionaries of Christ, and former fellow Dominican Marie-Dominique Philippe, all of whom were found to have carried out abuse.

In 2010 Schönborn made headlines when he publicly criticized Cardinal Angelo Sodano, then retired as Vatican secretary of state, for dismissing the abuse crisis as “petty gossip” at a Mass on Easter Sunday in St. Peter’s Square. Speaking to Austrian Catholic media, he accused Sodano of covering up the Groër scandal by using Vatican diplomacy to block the investigation. He said Sodano’s “petty gossip” comment caused “massive harm.” The public spat led to Benedict’s summoning Schönborn to the apostolic palace and the Vatican’s issuing an unusual critical statement, reminding the faithful that “in the Church, only the Pope has the authority to accuse a cardinal.”

Handling Dissent

Although his views on women’s ordination appear confused (see the next section), Schönborn has been seen publicly to act decisively against such dissenting positions.

In 2011, a dissident group of Austrian priests called Pfarrer-Initiative (Priests’ Initiative) made a push for the ordination of women as well as optional clerical celibacy, and the granting of Holy Communion to Catholics in irregular unions and to non-Catholic Christians. The initiative was called Aufruf zum Ungehorsam.³Call for Disobedience,” Pfarrer-Initiative, 19 June 2011.Cardinal Schönborn met with the members of the Pfarrer-Initiative and publicly reaffirmed the Church’s position on the issues raised by the group. Cardinal Schönborn further directed on June 26, 2012, that no priest supporting the Aufruf zum Ungehorsam may be appointed to the office of dean in the Archdiocese of Vienna. ⁴The position of Christoph Cardinal Schönborn regarding the Aufruf zum Ungehorsam of 26 June 2012 is published on the archdiocesan website.

Schönborn “backed celibacy for priests, limiting ordination to men and preserving marriage as a life-long commitment” and reiterated a warning to the dissident clergy that they faced serious consequences if they continued to advocate disobedience to the Vatican.

But the cardinal has also acted less decisively. On March 18, 2012, the parish of Stützenhofen, in the Archdiocese of Vienna, elected Florian Stangl, a twenty-six-year-old man who was living in a homosexual civil union, to be a member of the parish council. The pastor, Fr. Gerhard Swierzek, refused to accept Stangl’s election because of his civil union. Schönborn initially supported Swierzek’s decision, saying the election “is actually not possible” and that “members of the parish council have to follow the teachings of the Church and the discipline of the Church.” He said that would be consistent with established bylaws of parish councils and that he “agree[d] with the pastor.” ⁵“Das geht eigentlich nicht. Das ist nicht Kompatibel. Pfarrgemeinderäte haben sich an die Lehre der Kirche und die diszipline der Kirche zu halten. . . . Das ist in der Pfarrgemeinderatsordnung festgeschrieben. Ich habe den Pfarrer eigentlich auch recht gegeben.” Later, however, Cardinal Schönborn wrote that “in the personal conversation I had with Mr. Stangl, I was very impressed by his faith, his humility and his desire to serve.” ⁶“Bei dem persönlichen Gespräch, das ich mit Herrn Stangl führen konnte, war ich von seiner gläubigen Haltung, seiner Bescheidenheit und seiner gelebten Dienstbereitschaft sehr beeindruckt.” He then decided to support Stangl, explaining, “I know that, from the perspective of the rules, it is problematic, but I will support him.” ⁷“Ich weiss, von der Regel her gesehen, ist das Problematisch, aber ich stell mich hinter ihn.”

Medjugorje Visit

In 2009, Schönborn made a private pilgrimage to the Marian shrine of Medjugorje without taking the customary action of first informing the local bishop, Ratko Perić. Like the Vatican, Perić was skeptical about the Medjugorje apparitions and wrote an open letter expressing his displeasure at Schönborn’s visit. Schönborn faxed a letter of apology to the bishop, saying it was not his intention that his visit be “a disservice to peace.”

International Start-Ups

Cardinal Schönborn has been crucial in the establishment of two organizations that have received international acclaim. In the 1990s, the Holy See appointed him the founding Grand Chancellor of the International Theological Institute near Vienna, which has become respected for its sound theological teaching. The cardinal remains Grand Chancellor to this day. In 2010, the cardinal cofounded the International Catholic Legislators Network with the British Catholic peer Lord Alton of Liverpool. A nonpartisan organization, the network aims to bring together practicing Catholics and other Christians in elected office on a regular basis for faith formation, education, and fellowship.

Covid-19

When the coronavirus crisis began, Schönborn avoided linking it to a punishment from God but wondered if it was connected to the “ecological question” and speculated that God might be trying to tell humanity something.

“Do we really need to have 200,000 airplanes in the air every day?” he asked in an interview with Austrian television. “Does He perhaps want to remind us that He has entrusted creation to us, and not given it to us to devastate it?” He also said in the same 2020 interview: “This crisis will certainly change the face of the earth,” that it would call globalization into question, and would lead to a great deal of reflection concerning present personal and social lifestyles.”

Despite ethical concerns over their origins and their safety and effectiveness, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn was a vocal advocate for Covid-19 vaccines, seeing them in the same way as Pope Francis: as a moral responsibility and an act of Christian love towards one’s neighbor. He even directly allowed part of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna to be set aside for vaccinations, carried out in association with the Order of Malta.⁸Cardinal Schönborn also addressed the issue of vaccine hesitancy, warning against pseudoscientific ideas and conspiracy theories. He acknowledged the importance of taking the fears of those hesitant about vaccination seriously while maintaining that the health of the majority must be prioritized

Cardinal Schönborn’s firm stance on vaccination led to the dismissal of a deacon from his role as a police chaplain due to the deacon’s public opposition to compulsory vaccination.

In April 2023, Schönborn said he stood by the Church’s actions during Covid. The Church did not oppose the government which threatened to impose arguably the strictest vaccine mandates in the world which included penalties of up to €3,600 for those who refused vaccination without a valid exemption, such as medical reasons or recent recovery from COVID-19.

The bishops, like the federal government, did what they thought was right, Schönborn said. In retrospect, one is always wiser and can see which measures could have been done differently, he added, “but one should not act as if it was not necessary to make decisions in the critical situation.”

TEACHING OFFICE

Drafting the Catechism

From 1987 to 1992, Cardinal Schönborn served as secretary of the commission responsible for drafting the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC). Together with Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, he wrote Introduction to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Ignatius Press, 1994). Cardinal Schönborn was also the editor of YouCat: Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church (2011). In a press conference in the context of the Synod on the Family, in October 2015, the cardinal stated that the teaching in the CCC on homosexuality should be changed. He responded: “We can and we must respect the decision to form a union with a person of the same sex, [and] to seek means under civil law to protect their living together with laws to ensure such protection.”

Pope Benedict XVI provided the foreword to the English edition of YouCat, in which he commended the publication and recommended it to youth.⁹Pope Benedict XVI, foreword to YouCat (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2011), 10. (He encouraged them with the following words: “I invite you: study this Catechism! That is my heartfelt desire.”) But YouCat remains controversial. Some consider it unfaithful to the Catechism and unclear about important moral teachings, whereas others consider it to be a faithful explanation of the teachings of the Catechism.

Same-Sex “Marriage” and Unions

Schönborn insists that civil laws that authorize same-sex “marriage” ought to be respected:

We can and we must respect the decision to form a union with a person of the same sex, to seek means under civil law to protect their living together with laws to ensure such protection. But if we are asked, if it is demanded of the Church to say that this is a marriage, well, we have to say: non possumus [we cannot]. It is not a discrimination of persons: to distinguish does not mean to discriminate. This absolutely does not prevent having great respect, friendship, or collaboration with couples living in this kind of union, and above all we mustn’t look down on them. No one is obliged to accept this doctrine, but one can’t pretend that the Church does not teach it.

Cardinal Schönborn has also said that he has “no objection” to the introduction of homosexual civil unions. “We have — also as Church — if you remember, not protested against this Austrian law for civil partnerships.” During a lecture given at the National Gallery in London on April 8, 2013, Schönborn again emphasized the importance of the civil recognition of homosexual unions, saying that “there can be same-sex partnerships and they need respect, and even civil law protection.” On April 20, 2013, Cardinal Schönborn’s spokesman Michael Prüller clarified the cardinal’s remarks: “The state may choose to respect certain choices made by its citizens, it may as a consequence legislate upon them, but it must never equate marriage with non-marriage. This cannot be seen as an endorsement of same-sex civil unions, neither in a legal sense, nor in a moral sense.”

Same-Sex Blessings

When the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith rejected the possibility of the Church allowing the blessing of same-sex unions in 2021, Cardinal Schönborn said the decision was marked by a “clear communication error.”

Renewing an earlier criticism of the intervention, he told the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) that he was concerned by both the timing and form of the ruling. “I wasn’t happy — neither about the timing nor about the way in which communication was being made,” he said. CNA Deutsch reported that Schönborn also had expressed regret that same-sex couples felt hurt by the ruling.

The cardinal was publicly silent about Fiducia Supplicans, the Vatican’s 2023 declaration that overturned the 2021 ruling by approving non-liturgical same sex blessings, although given his past comments on the issue, he most likely supported the document.

Right-to-Life Issues

Abortion is morally impermissible, according to Schönborn, although his moral principles are always subject to what he considers “pastoral” concerns. One such example occurred when Auxiliary Bishop Andreas Laun of Austria stated that a mall owner, Richard Lugner, who rented space to an abortion clinic, had automatically excommunicated himself because of his “material cooperation” with evil. Cardinal Schönborn’s spokesman Erich Leitenberger appeared to distance the cardinal from Bishop Laun’s comment, saying: “Academic discussions about excommunication will not help to save the right to life of even one child.”

Cardinal Schönborn himself said: “The destruction of life must not be made banal and viewed like a shopping trip. It must not be that a society is viewed as a way out. Everything you need to know about abortion is to be found in the Fifth Commandment.” Schönborn said that he had asked Lugner not to sign a contract with the abortion clinic, but he apparently did not listen to him. Cardinal Schönborn has endorsed Priests for Life and initiated the creation of a Priests for Life chapter in Austria. In 2016, and in advance of an Austrian presidential election, Cardinal Schönborn criticized Bishop Laun, who discouraged votes for a pro-abortion presidential candidate, Alexander Van der Bellen (Laun referenced the candidate’s public statements and his party’s platform in making his critique). Schönborn said in a statement that “a good decision in the election cannot base itself just on the core issues of the Catholic Church like the defense of human life, but must also take into consideration many other components like the attitude of the candidates toward the weakest members of society, among them, immigrants.”

He also discouraged attendance at a pro-life counterrally. Michael Häupl, the mayor of Vienna, planned to host a celebration marking the thirtieth anniversary of a “busy” abortion clinic. But Schönborn discouraged pro-life activists from staging a counterdemonstration at city hall to protest that event. Bishop Laun “revealed that he stayed away from the protest at the cardinal’s specific request.”

The cardinal, in advance of Pope Benedict’s visit to Austria in September 2007, called the lack of respect for life a “great wound” and said that it “exists in many European countries, but above all in ours, in Austria, where the ‘yes’ to life — whether to its beginning or its natural end — is more and more up for discussion.” He went on to say, “The Church is very active in this sphere, whether it is to help women in difficulty welcome their own child, or to favor the alternative to euthanasia, that is, the network of houses in which there is a human and Christian accompaniment of the dying.” He concluded by saying, “All of these initiatives are closely linked to the Church and produce a positive effect on society.”¹⁰Zenit Staff, “Cardinal: Pope Will Call Austrians to Respect Life,” Zenit, 19 August 2007

In a published interview, Schönborn contradicted the chairman of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany, Nikolaus Schneider, who had spoken in favor of euthanasia, saying, “There can be no debate about the absolute ‘no’ to euthanasia.”

Record on Contraception

Schönborn’s record on contraception is not so straightforward. One commentator has observed that “the official website of the Austrian bishops under Cardinal Christoph Schönborn’s watch, as well as his own diocesan website, has published a series of articles in light of the 50th anniversary of the promulgation of Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae. These articles present a major undermining of essential Church teachings as they were laid out in Humanae Vitae, even putting into doubt the abiding unlawfulness of contraception.”¹¹“Cardinal Schönborn is the ‘media bishop’ of the Austrian Bishops’ Conference and, as such, officially the editor of Kathpress, the news website of the bishops’ conference. He is also responsible, as the archbishop of Vienna, for what his diocesan website publishes.”

There was also considerable confusion over the issue in 2011 with the Italian translation of YouCat. Question 420 of the Italian edition read: “Can a Christian couple have recourse to contraceptive methods?” The answer read: “Yes, a Christian couple can and must be responsible about their capacity of being able to give life.” The answer in Italian goes on to explain — in line with Church teaching — that the Church does not accept artificial means of contraception but does allow regulation of fertility through natural methods. The corrected question now reads in Italian, “Can a Christian couple have recourse to methods that regulate fertility?” The English version of the question reads: “May a Christian married couple regulate the number of children they have?” And the answer reads: “Yes, a Christian married couple may and should be responsible in using the gift and privilege of transmitting life.” ¹²YouCat: Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2015).

Holy Scripture

Cardinal Schönborn appears to endorse the historicity of the Gospels in a way that conforms to the teaching of Dei Verbum, although his views on the sources of Christian doctrine appear problematic. Schönborn cites Dei Verbum in support of truths about Sacred Scripture and Tradition. In an excerpt from his 2010 book, he writes of “three pillars” that together “support Christology: Scripture, tradition, and experience.” He goes on to say, “The soundness of these three determines the soundness of Christology.”¹³Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, The Three Pillars of Christology: Scripture-Tradition-Experience (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010). It is unclear whether he places experience on equal footing with divine revelation and Apostolic Tradition.

On Communion for “Remarried” Divorcees

Schönborn affirms the possibility of Communion for the divorced and “remarried.” After Amoris Laetitia was released, Pope Francis asked Cardinal Schönborn if he thought the encyclical was “orthodox.” To which he replied, “Holy Father, it is fully orthodox.” Pope Francis chose Schönborn to be one of Amoris Laetitia’s interpreters. Schönborn gave an extremely lengthy interview to Americamagazine after Amoris Laetitia’s release. The interviewer, the close Jesuit papal aide Fr. Antonio Spadaro, asked:

The Pope states that “in some cases,” when a person is in an objective situation of sin — but without being subjectively guilty — it is possible to receiv[e] for this purpose the help of the Church, including the sacraments, and even the Eucharist. Is there a rupture here with what was affirmed in the past?

To which Cardinal Schönborn, after referencing St. Paul’s famous exhortation to Christians not to receive the Eucharist unworthily (1 Cor. 11:29), replied:

It is possible, in certain cases, that the one who is in an objective situation of sin can receive the help of the sacraments. One cannot pass from the general rule to “some cases” merely by looking at formal situations. In some cases, one who is in an objective situation of sin can receive the help of the sacraments.

When Spadaro asked, “What does ‘in some cases’ mean? [Why can we] not get a kind of inventory to explain what this means?,”Cardinal Schönborn explained: “We would risk creating, even by means of a norm that spoke of exceptions, a right to receive the Eucharist in an objective situation of sin.” Spadaro intuited that “After this exhortation . . . it is no longer meaningful to ask whether, in general, all divorced and ‘remarried’ persons can or cannot receive the sacraments.” Cardinal Schönborn responded in the affirmative:

[Amoris Laetitia] is located on the very concrete level of each person’s life. There is an evolution, clearly expressed by Pope Francis, in the Church’s perception of the elements that condition and that mitigate, elements that are specific to our own epoch: The Church possesses a solid body of reflection concerning mitigating factors and situations. Hence it can no longer simply be said that all those in any “irregular” situation are living in a state of mortal sin and are deprived of sanctifying grace. More is involved here than mere ignorance of the rule. A subject may know the rule full well yet have great difficulty in understanding “its inherent values,” or may be in a concrete situation which does not allow him or her to act differently and decide otherwise without further sin.

Immigration

Cardinal Schönborn was generally supportive of immigration, until he came to “rethink” his position because of the “unbelievable number” of migrants that flooded into Germany because of Chancellor Merkel’s 2015 “open doors” refugee and immigration policy.That rethinking came at the end of 2016. In 2018, in an interview with the Austrian daily Österreich, the cardinal said, against the backdrop of a stricter Austrian immigration policy since 2015, that “it is clear to everyone that a correction [of the 2015 open-frontiers policy] was necessary.” Asylum, for Schönborn, is a “sacred” right and must not become a term of abuse.

“What worries me is that Austria might be seen internationally as a particularly nasty country. The danger lies in the language that is used. Linguistic sensitivity is called for. The use of violent language is the first step to violent actions. We must remain vigilant.”

In June 2020, the Cardinal stressed that “a minimum level of respect and appreciation for religions and believers must always be maintained.” When a political leader, Norbert Hofer, said the Koran was “more dangerous than Corona,” Schönborn said political debates sometimes “overshoot the mark” which is human but should not go unchallenged. The good cooperation between the state and religious communities in Austria – “which some envy us for” — must be maintained, as must the good relationship between religions, he said.

Female Ordination

As mentioned above, Schönborn’s views on female priests are confused. He thinks ordaining women to the priesthood is not impossible in principle but that it should not be done at this time because it would be too radical a shift in the Church’s praxis: “[Female priests] would be too profound an encroachment on the 2,000-year tradition, and even Pope Francis said: ‘that is not foreseen.’”

Cardinal Schönborn had previously caused controversy after saying that a pope “cannot decide” by himself whether the ordination of women is permitted. “Ordination [of women] is a question that surely can only be settled by a Council,” he told Die Presse.

It is unclear how this fits with John Paul II’s definitive declaration that the Church does not have the power to ordain women.¹⁴“Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church’s divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.” In 2020, Schönborn reaffirmed on Austrian television his desire to see women ordained deacons and even expressed “disappointment” that Pope Francis had not sufficiently advanced this cause. He insisted the issue was “still on the table” despite Francis’ clearly not including it in Querida Amazonia, his post-synodal summary of the Amazon synod.

Priestly Celibacy

Schönborn has questioned the Latin-Rite discipline of priestly celibacy. The Australian reported that in Rome in 2009, Cardinal Schönborn “presented a petition signed by leading Austrian lay Catholics calling for the abolition of the requirement for priestly celibacy.” He has also raised the possibility that priestly celibacy might be a cause of the sex abuse crisis; in 2010, Schönborn said that there needed to be an “unflinching examination” of the causes of the scandal and that the causes include “the issue of priests’ training, as well as the question of what happened in the so-called sexual revolution of the generation of 1968 [as well as] the question of priest celibacy and the question of personality development.” He concluded by saying that to confront and solve the scandal “requires a great deal of honesty, both on the part of the Church and of society.”

In 2019, Schönborn  expressed openness to the idea of ordaining married men to the priesthood under certain circumstances, but that he believes it should be left for a Church Council to decide. He acknowledged the existence of married priests in Eastern Catholic Churches and suggested that the Latin Church could consider ordaining viri probati (proven, married men), particularly those who have served as deacons and demonstrated their commitment to their families and communities

Islam

Cardinal Schönborn wants Islam to reform itself; he wants Europe to retain its Christian heritage, and he is cautious about the Islamization of Europe. In 2016, he gave a homily in the cathedral of Vienna and said, “On this day, 333 years ago, Vienna was saved. Will there now be a third attempt at an Islamic conquest of Europe?” He continued: “Many Muslims think so and long for it.”Schönborn tried to make it clear that he was not championing a sort of defensive battle, defending Christian values against Islam. He offered the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Vienna, Der Sonntag, the following clarification: “Europe’s Christian legacy is in danger, because we Europeans have squandered it. That has absolutely nothing to do with Islam nor with the refugees. It is clear that many Islamists would like to take advantage of our weakness, but they are not responsible for it. We are.” The cardinal further clarified: “One must not take my homily to be a call to defend ourselves against the refugees, this was not at all my intention. The opportunity for a Christian renewal of Europe lies in our hands: if we look at and come to Christ, spread his gospel and deal with our fellow men, strangers included, as he has taught us, in love and responsibility.”

Schönborn also stated:

The Enlightenment was a salutary, cleansing challenge for Christianity. It had to go through a long and painful regeneration process which was not resolved until the founding of the ecumenical movement in the twentieth century. Why shouldn’t there be similar regeneration powers in Islam which will lead to genuine spiritual renewal and a strict “no” to the use of violence? I personally very much hope so.

Schönborn stated in response to the expulsion of sixty imams and the closings of seven mosques in Austria in June 2018, that religious freedom must prevail in Austria but also that “that means that the state is obliged to exercise a supervisory role and see to it that religious communities do not abuse the freedom of religion. They must abide by the rule of law and the government can intervene should they not do so.”

Universalism

It appears Cardinal Schönborn implicitly embraces universalism; his comments recorded in the following excerpt suggest that, in fact, no one might ever reside in hell. The 2008 Divine Mercy congress was marked by a respectful theological disagreement between the Russian Orthodox Bishop Hilarion of Vienna and Cardinal Schönborn. The Orthodox prelate, in his presentation, argued that God’s mercy is so great that He does not condemn sinners to everlasting punishment. The Orthodox understanding of hell, Bishop Hilarion said, corresponds roughly to the Catholic notion of purgatory. Cardinal Schönborn politely disagreed, noting that the idea expressed by Bishop Hilarion “is not a doctrine of the Church.” While hell is a reality, he said, it is God’s will for all men to be saved, and all Christians should pray “that no one will be lost.”¹⁵On July 10, 2004, Cardinal Schönborn presided at the funeral Mass for Austrian president Thomas Klestil (1932- 2004). President Klestil died while living in an irregular union. At the funeral Mass, Cardinal Schönborn declared: “We firmly believe that you are home, at home with God,” where “there is no greater happiness.” Cf. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Happiness, God and Man (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2011), 104.

Schönborn spoke on November 19, 2015, at the International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID) about the potential of interreligious dialogue for peace. He said: “I think that we will not be judged about our religion but about the question: What did you do for justice in the world? For the hungry? For the refugees? For the poor, the needy? What have you done for the ecological needs of our planet? This is a common responsibility about [which] . . . we have to work together.”

What Cardinal Schönborn thinks about evangelization of non-Catholics and the nature of the political common good is unclear. His thoughts on Islam seem to indicate that, regarding proselytization, he values a conversion-and-shining-example approach to converting non-Catholics, at least with respect to Muslims, over an explicit approach to helping them convert. But that is because the Faith in Europe is dying, so the conversion of the lukewarm must precede the conversion of non-Catholics; if the Faith in Europe were more vibrant, it is possible he might think that proselytization would be effective and so should be done.

Europe’s Decline

In a September 2024 interview with a French Catholic magazine, Cardinal Schönborn said that in the face of rising secularization and the growth of Islam in many historically Christian nations, Catholics should “trust in the work of grace” and remember that the Church is “an expert in humanity.”

“The Church is alive and will always be, albeit under different circumstances. We must accept the decline of Europe. We tend to gaze at our ecclesiastical navel, but it is an undeniable continental movement,” Cardinal Schönborn said, speaking to Famille Chrétienne.

“In 20 years, the European population will not be the same as it is today, and it is already not the same as it was 50 years ago. This is inevitable, above all due to the decline in the birth rate in Europe but also due to immigration and the increasing presence of Islam. This poses new challenges for us Christians. We must also not forget that the Lord is at work in his Church! Just think of the 12,000 baptisms of adults and young people in France this year.”

Schönborn added that despite the decline of the Church’s influence in Europe, he is convinced that the Church “has not yet breathed its last.”

Synodality

As a frequent participant of the Vatican Synods under Francis and a loyal servant of the Pope, Schönborn is a keen supporter of synodality. He has described synodality as “the modus operandi of ecclesial communion,” in which it is possible to participate in “governance issues and decisions, on aspects of the life of the Church.” On the 2021-2024 Synod on Synodality, he said in September 2023 that it was a synod “on how ecclesial communion, the journeying together of all the members of the people of God, is lived in an evangelical way.”

He also said he sees the Synod on Synodality as “a further step in the reception of the Second Vatican Council,” and added: “We must not forget that the journey together of synodality does not only occur in the contemporary world, but also in history. Therefore, synodality also means remembering the journey of those who preceded us in the faith.” He has also asserted that synodality “is not a Church parliament where different interest groups fight for the majority.”

Germany Synodal Way

Despite being a fervent supporter of synodality, Cardinal Schönborn was decidedly critical of the Germany Synodal Way, warning in February 2024 that it risked creating a schism in the Church if German bishops continued defying Rome’s directives on establishing a Synodal Committee run by laity and clergy.

He said he agreed with the Vatican’s criticism of the reform process, adding that the envisioned involvement of laypeople in fundamental decisions contradicts the constitution of the Church. In Cardinal Schönborn’s view, the German bishops should not make any decisions that could lead to a schism. They should “seriously ask themselves whether they really want to leave the communion with and under the Pope or rather accept it loyally,” he said. “Refusing to give in would be ‘obstinatio’ (obstinacy) — a clear sign of a schism that nobody can want.” In his view, ignoring the warnings from Rome would be negligent.

Schönborn recalled that the Vatican had already stated several times that the Church in Germany was not authorized to establish a joint governing body of lay and clerical people.

In 2020, before the Synodal Way had begun, Schönborn played down the threat of schism which was also being talked about at that time. For 50 years, he said, he had been hearing that the Church was on the verge of splitting, but “it did not come because the forces of unity are stronger.”

Exodus from the Church

In July 2020, Cardinal Schönborn lamented a sharp rise in the number of baptized Catholics leaving the Church in Austria. But rather than call for some critical internal analysis, he put it down to having “religious freedom,” adding: “We are not a compulsory community. This is the freedom that God has given us.”

Green Issues

He has expressed concern about environmental issues, particularly in the context of the Amazon rainforest. During the Amazon Synod in 2019, he emphasized the importance of the Amazon for the global climate, stating that “there’s scientific evidence [proving] that the destruction of the Amazon forest means the destruction of the world.”

In the same year, as head of the Austrian bishops’ conference, he oversaw the bishops’ decision to divest from fossil fuels. He said Church finances “must not exert a destructive influence on our planet’s climate” and cited Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si, on Care for Our Common Home, as the inspiration for the decision.

THE NEW EVANGELIZATION

 Schönborn has spoken about the “New Evangelization.” When it was put to him that several people at the 2012 Synod on the New Evangelization were impressed with what he had said about such gatherings “being a chance for bishops to talk to each other about their pastoral challenges,” the cardinal replied:

As successors of the apostles, we are called to be the first evangelizers. We all asked ourselves, “Do I really evangelize?” I preach a lot, I’m in the parishes, I write pastoral letters, and so on, but what’s meant by the “New Evangelization” is not only the daily pastoral work, which obviously we have to do and we do it with joy, but what Pope Benedict repeatedly says to us, encourages us to do, is to reach out to those who no longer have, or never have had, any direct contact with the gospel. This is the real challenge of the New Evangelization. I was very moved by some examples in the synod of real shared experiences of our work of evangelization. Of course, we also have to talk about all the questions of secular society, of globalization, of the social dimension, and all these subjects.

APPROACH TO MORAL THEOLOGY

Schönborn’s understanding of the foundations of moral theology, and of the moral life, is troubling.

In a talk in Vienna in July 2017 on Amoris Laetitia, Schönborn explained that moral theology must “stand on two feet: Principles, and then the prudential steps to apply them to reality.” It is true, of course, that moral principles must be applied to concrete situations by the acting person in order to arrive at a decision, here and now, about what to do. But it is scarcely accurate or helpful to describe these both as foundations (“the two feet”) of moral theology. Application is essential, but it is downstream, contingent, and secondary to the great moral truths that serve as the anchors and the architecture of morality.

Cardinal Schönborn has declared that “Amoris laetitia is the great document of moral theology that we have been waiting for since the time of Vatican II and that develops the choices already made by the CCC and by [John Paul II’s] Veritatis splendor.” Schönborn recognizes the obvious tension between Amoris Laetitia and Veritatis Splendor’s teaching on exceptionless moral norms. But he doubles down on the equality of “principles” and “prudence.” According to him, the two documents represent an intrinsically unstable setting:

The great preceding document Veritatis splendor of John Paul II showed one side of reality, so to speak, but did not have the other side in view. John Paul II’s concern was establishing the existence of objective norms. And that is absolutely necessary. It’s not like I put together my own norms. There are objective norms. But this expresses only one half of the matter. And the second half Francis has added with Amoris laetitia. In that document one can sense where his existential background lies. Those countless extremely poor families he experienced in Latin America. You can’t just come along with the objective norm! You have to take a look at what realization of humaneness, at times even heroic, and what realization of mutual help people manage to engender under such living conditions. This concrete attentiveness to that reality has helped the Church tremendously. Pope Francis says: neither laxism nor rigorism, but discerning, looking, verifying. Of course this is to be done also when listening to what the Church says. But above all in looking at the real situation and the judgment of my conscience. . . . Pope Francis’ challenge is the difficult way of discernment.

Here we see unmistakably how, for Schönborn, “discernment,” “application,” and “prudence” cannot peacefully live on terms of equality with objective moral truths. Their alleged parity as two foundational pillars cannot persist. So Schönborn ends up implicitly concluding that objective moral norms can sometimes — in the concrete situation — undermine “humaneness,” and that the “heroic” moral choice can sometimes be contrary to “objective” moral norms. This denies precisely what St John Paul II taught in Veritatis Splendor, which is that the basic moral norms are truths invariably constitutive of human flourishing (“humaneness”), and that no one ever, anywhere does right or pleases God by, for example, choosing to commit adultery or to have an abortion.

Schönborn tried to justify the contentious passages in Amoris Laetitia by claiming that they represented a “classic case” of an “organic development of doctrine” along the lines envisaged by St. John Henry Newman and “not a rupture” with past papal teaching.

But Schönborn’s other comments suggest that there is indeed a rupture with previous Church teaching, and his positions undermine the indissoluble nature of marriage. In an interview with Spadaro, given on August 26, 2015, and published in La Civiltà Cattolica, he concurred with what appears to be Pope Francis’ understanding — namely, that marriage is a composite and not a moral unity. In other words, both he and Pope Francis seem to hold that a “true” or “real” marriage is a life together that exhibits a maximum number of admirable qualities (mutual care, emotional closeness, sex, children, long- [longer-, longest-] term commitment, psychological satisfaction, community orientation, etc.), so that persons — such as those in homosexual “civil unions” or cohabiting adulterers — for whom marriage is morally impossible could, in reality, be just as “married” as most heterosexual couples who have exchanged marital vows to form a sacramental union.

Schönborn said Matrimony is “realized fully where justly there is a sacrament between a man and a woman living in faith etc. But, that does not prevent that, outside of this full realization of the Sacrament of Matrimony, there are elements of matrimony that are signals of expectation, positive elements.”¹⁶“Il sacramento del matrimonio si realizza pienamente là dove giustamente c’è il sacramento tra un uomo e una donna che vivono nella fede ecc. Ma ciò non impedisce che, al di fuori di questa realizzazione piena del sacramento del matrimonio, ci siano elementi del matrimonio che sono segnali di attesa, elementi positivi.” Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, interview with Father Antonio Spadaro, S.J., “Matrimonio e conversione pastorale. Intervista al Cardinale Christoph Schönborn,” La Civiltà Cattolica 3, no. 3966 (2015): 494-510 (emphasis added). He added that one can “know to view and to discern in a couple, in a de facto union, in cohabitants, the elements of true heroism, of true love, of a true mutual gift. Even if we must say: ‘There is not yet a full reality of the sacrament.’ But, who are we to judge that in them elements of truth and sanctification do not exist?”¹⁷“Sanno guardare e discernere in una coppia, in un’unione di fatto, in dei conviventi, gli elementi di vero eroismo, di vera carità, di vero dono reciproco. Anche se dobbiamo dire: ‘Non è ancora una piena realtà del sacramento.’ Ma chi siamo noi per giudicare e dire che non esistono in loro elementi di verità e di santificazione? Spadaro, “Matrimonio e conversione pastorale.” For example, he said, a civil marriage is better than simply living together, because it signifies a couple has made a formal, public commitment to each other. “It’s an improvement,” he said. They share “a life, they share their joys and sufferings, they help one another. It must be recognized that this person took an important step for his own good and the good of others, even though it certainly is not a situation the Church can consider ‘regular.’”¹⁸“Invece di dire tutto ciò che manca, ci si può anche avvicinare a tali realtà, notando ciò che di positivo esiste in questo amore che si stabilizza.” Cardinal Schönborn spoke in the interview about someone he knows who, after many temporary relationships, entered a stable homosexual relationship. He commented: “Ora ha trovato una relazione stabile. È un miglioramento, se non altro sul piano umano, il non passare più da un rapporto all’altro, ma stabilizzarsi in una relazione che non è basata solo sulla sessualità. Si condivide una vita, si condividono gioie e sofferenze, ci si aiuta a vicenda. Bisogna riconoscere che questa persona ha fatto un passo importante per il proprio bene e per il bene degli altri, anche se, certamente, non è una situazione che la Chiesa possa considerare regolare.” Spadaro, “Matrimonio e conversione pastorale.” The Church’s negative “judgment about homosexual acts is necessary,” he said, “but the Church should not look in the bedroom first, but in the dining room! It must accompany people.” ¹⁹“Il giudizio sugli atti omosessuali come tali è necessario, ma la Chiesa non deve guardare prima nella camera da letto, ma nella sala da pranzo! Occorre accompagnare.” Spadaro, “Matrimonio e conversione pastorale.” With regard to irregular unions, Schönborn said the Church “cannot transform an irregular situation into a regular one, but there do exist paths for healing, for learning, for moving gradually closer to a situation in compliance with Church teaching.” ²⁰“Non si può trasformare una situazione irregolare in una regolare, ma esi- stono anche cammini di guarigione, di approfondimento, cammini in cui la legge è vissuta passo dopo passo.” Spadaro, “Matrimonio e conversione pastorale.”

In October 2011, Schönborn reportedly wrote in the preface to Thema Kirche, the magazine for the staff of the Archdiocese of Vienna, that the readers should focus on the subject of failed relationships. A pastoral service of the Archdiocese of Vienna to assist those who are divorced and “remarried,” WIGE “Plattform für geschiedene und Wiederverheiratete in der Kirche,” maintained in its brochure that “it is certain that proper sacramental marriage is indissoluble. It has the highest value before God.”²¹“Fest steht, dass die aufrechte sakramentale. Ehe unauflöslich ist. Sie hat vor Gott die höchste Würde.” Aufmerksamkeiten, Erzdioezese Wien, 12 (emphasis added). But the brochure went on to state that “for those people whose first marriage is broken, a ‘second vow’ should be possible. In this way, the new relationship receives appropriate value and is raised above the mere civil union. Such a vow is not to be equated with an ecclesial marriage!”²²“Für Menschen, deren erste Ehe zerbrochen ist, soll ein ‘zweites Gelöbnis’ möglich sein Dadurch erhält diese neue Verbindung eine entsprechende Würde und hebt sich von einer nur standesamtlich geschlossenen Zivilehe ab Dieses ist nicht mit einer kirchlich geschlossenen Ehe gleichzusetzen!”

What of issues relating to the nature of marriage and homosexuality? Cardinal Schönborn has said, “The ‘marriage-for-all’ [position] poses for us as Church some challenges for which we do not have sure formulas. We have to find careful answers to these questions which keep the dignity and the salvation of the souls of the concerned in view.” When asked by Fr. Spadaro of La Civiltà Cattolica just before the October 2015 Synod on the Family whether he had ever “come across circumstances in the lives of homosexuals” that had spoken to or resonated with him in a particularly positive way, Schönborn replied:

I know a homosexual person who has lived [promiscuously for years but has now] found a stable relationship. It is an improvement, if nothing else then [sic] on a human level, this being in a stable relationship that is not based only on sexuality. One shares one’s life, one shares the joys and sufferings, one helps one another. We must recognize that this person has made an important step for his own good and for the good of others, even though, of course, this is not a situation that the Church can consider regular. The judgment on homosexual acts as such is necessary, but the Church must accompany.

For Schönborn, the moral norm that Holy Communion may be offered only to those who live in a state in conformity with the gospel may be superseded by circumstances. He has stated that the “general norm is very clear, and it is equally clear that it cannot cover all the cases exhaustively. On the level of principle, the doctrine of marriage and the sacraments is clear. Pope Francis has newly expressed it with great clarity. On the level of discipline, the Pope takes account of the endless variety of concrete situations. He has affirmed that one should not expect a new general set of norms in the manner of canon law that would be applicable to every case.”

Schönborn has been intensely loyal to Pope Francis and ever willing to defend him over theological controversies, even adding his Dominican weight to tenuous attempts to justify contentious passages of Amoris Laetitia by asserting they were Thomistic. He privately criticized heated public criticism of the pope over the apostolic exhortation, viewing such criticism as distasteful and un-Catholic.

• 1
  Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, “What Is Liturgy?,” in Living the Catechism of the Catholic Church: A Brief Commentary on the Catechism for Every Week of the Year, vol. 2, The Sacraments (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2000)
• 2
  “Bad News from Vienna — Update: With the Icebreaker to Liturgical Nirvana,” Motu Proprio: Summorum Pontificum, 20 November 2008
• 3
  Call for Disobedience,” Pfarrer-Initiative, 19 June 2011
• 4
  The position of Christoph Cardinal Schönborn regarding the Aufruf zum Ungehorsam of 26 June 2012 is published on the archdiocesan website.
• 5
  “Das geht eigentlich nicht. Das ist nicht Kompatibel. Pfarrgemeinderäte haben sich an die Lehre der Kirche und die diszipline der Kirche zu halten. . . . Das ist in der Pfarrgemeinderatsordnung festgeschrieben. Ich habe den Pfarrer eigentlich auch recht gegeben.”
• 6
  “Bei dem persönlichen Gespräch, das ich mit Herrn Stangl führen konnte, war ich von seiner gläubigen Haltung, seiner Bescheidenheit und seiner gelebten Dienstbereitschaft sehr beeindruckt.”
• 7
  “Ich weiss, von der Regel her gesehen, ist das Problematisch, aber ich stell mich hinter ihn.”
• 8
  Cardinal Schönborn also addressed the issue of vaccine hesitancy, warning against pseudoscientific ideas and conspiracy theories. He acknowledged the importance of taking the fears of those hesitant about vaccination seriously while maintaining that the health of the majority must be prioritized
• 9
  Pope Benedict XVI, foreword to YouCat (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2011), 10. (He encouraged them with the following words: “I invite you: study this Catechism! That is my heartfelt desire.”)
• 10
  Zenit Staff, “Cardinal: Pope Will Call Austrians to Respect Life,” Zenit, 19 August 2007
• 11
  “Cardinal Schönborn is the ‘media bishop’ of the Austrian Bishops’ Conference and, as such, officially the editor of Kathpress, the news website of the bishops’ conference. He is also responsible, as the archbishop of Vienna, for what his diocesan website publishes.”
• 12
  YouCat: Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2015).
• 13
  Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, The Three Pillars of Christology: Scripture-Tradition-Experience (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010).
• 14
  “Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church’s divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.”
• 15
  On July 10, 2004, Cardinal Schönborn presided at the funeral Mass for Austrian president Thomas Klestil (1932- 2004). President Klestil died while living in an irregular union. At the funeral Mass, Cardinal Schönborn declared: “We firmly believe that you are home, at home with God,” where “there is no greater happiness.” Cf. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Happiness, God and Man (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2011), 104.
• 16
  “Il sacramento del matrimonio si realizza pienamente là dove giustamente c’è il sacramento tra un uomo e una donna che vivono nella fede ecc. Ma ciò non impedisce che, al di fuori di questa realizzazione piena del sacramento del matrimonio, ci siano elementi del matrimonio che sono segnali di attesa, elementi positivi.” Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, interview with Father Antonio Spadaro, S.J., “Matrimonio e conversione pastorale. Intervista al Cardinale Christoph Schönborn,” La Civiltà Cattolica 3, no. 3966 (2015): 494-510 (emphasis added).
• 17
  “Sanno guardare e discernere in una coppia, in un’unione di fatto, in dei conviventi, gli elementi di vero eroismo, di vera carità, di vero dono reciproco. Anche se dobbiamo dire: ‘Non è ancora una piena realtà del sacramento.’ Ma chi siamo noi per giudicare e dire che non esistono in loro elementi di verità e di santificazione? Spadaro, “Matrimonio e conversione pastorale.”
• 18
  “Invece di dire tutto ciò che manca, ci si può anche avvicinare a tali realtà, notando ciò che di positivo esiste in questo amore che si stabilizza.” Cardinal Schönborn spoke in the interview about someone he knows who, after many temporary relationships, entered a stable homosexual relationship. He commented: “Ora ha trovato una relazione stabile. È un miglioramento, se non altro sul piano umano, il non passare più da un rapporto all’altro, ma stabilizzarsi in una relazione che non è basata solo sulla sessualità. Si condivide una vita, si condividono gioie e sofferenze, ci si aiuta a vicenda. Bisogna riconoscere che questa persona ha fatto un passo importante per il proprio bene e per il bene degli altri, anche se, certamente, non è una situazione che la Chiesa possa considerare regolare.” Spadaro, “Matrimonio e conversione pastorale.”
• 19
  “Il giudizio sugli atti omosessuali come tali è necessario, ma la Chiesa non deve guardare prima nella camera da letto, ma nella sala da pranzo! Occorre accompagnare.” Spadaro, “Matrimonio e conversione pastorale.”
• 20
  “Non si può trasformare una situazione irregolare in una regolare, ma esi- stono anche cammini di guarigione, di approfondimento, cammini in cui la legge è vissuta passo dopo passo.” Spadaro, “Matrimonio e conversione pastorale.”
• 21
  “Fest steht, dass die aufrechte sakramentale. Ehe unauflöslich ist. Sie hat vor Gott die höchste Würde.” Aufmerksamkeiten, Erzdioezese Wien, 12 (emphasis added).
• 22
  “Für Menschen, deren erste Ehe zerbrochen ist, soll ein ‘zweites Gelöbnis’ möglich sein Dadurch erhält diese neue Verbindung eine entsprechende Würde und hebt sich von einer nur standesamtlich geschlossenen Zivilehe ab Dieses ist nicht mit einer kirchlich geschlossenen Ehe gleichzusetzen!”