Hereditary Prince Alois still wants an Archdiocese of Vaduz – kath.ch
Hereditary Prince Alois von und zu Liechtenstein (54) says in an interview with the “Volkblatt” that he expects the Archdiocese of Vaduz to be retained. He himself “would appreciate that too.” He criticized Archbishop Wolfgang Haas for canceling a mass with the state parliament and named Cardinal Hollerich of Luxembourg as a role model for Haas’ successor.
Raphael Rauch
«The decision to appoint a new archbishop is solely in the hands of the Holy See. We do not have a right of proposal, as is sometimes the case in other dioceses, »says Hereditary Prince Alois von und zu Liechtenstein (54) in an interview with the Liechtenstein «Volksblatt» (Thursday edition).
Covert criticism of Archbishop Haas – praise for Cardinal Hollerich
When asked whether the Archdiocese of Vaduz would remain in existence, he said: “I assume so and would welcome it. I support the retention of the archdiocese for reasons of sovereignty, because in recent years the Vatican has started to set up a separate archdiocese for each state.”
Also the opportunity to copy a lot of positive things in Liechtenstein and beyond. For example, the current Archbishop of Luxembourg plays a very important role for the Catholic Church in Europe.”
The words can be interpreted as cryptic criticism of the controversial Archbishop of Vaduz, Wolfgang Haas, who ultimately refuses to participate in the synodal process. Pope Francis has entrusted this to the Archbishop of Luxembourg, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich. The Archdiocese of Vaduz is also different from the Archdiocese of Luxembourg not member of the CCEE, the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences in Europe.
Criticism of Haas’ cancellation of the Holy Spirit Office
Archbishop Wolfgang Haas will be 75 on August 7, 2023 and will then have to offer his resignation to the Pope due to his age. He can’t say anything about the successor, says the hereditary prince in the “Volksblatt” interview: “I don’t know anymore either. I also don’t think it would be helpful for the candidate search if this were done in a very public process. This could deter good candidates.”
In the interview, Hereditary Prince Alois also criticizes Archbishop Wolfgang Haas directly. He canceled the Heilig-Geist-Amt for January 2023, i.e. the traditional fair with the members of the state parliament. Haas justified this with the planned introduction of “marriage for all”.
New archbishop to reintroduce Holy Spirit office
Hereditary Prince Alois said of Haas’ cancellation: “The Archbishop probably wanted to send a signal to express his displeasure with the initiative. I think it would have been better if he hadn’t canceled the Mass, but had read it himself and found suitable words in a sermon.”
He himself “regrets the cancellation of the Office of the Holy Spirit” and would be happy “if a new archbishop would reintroduce it. Perhaps the cancellation also has a positive side if there is more prayer for our country and its politics both on this day and throughout the year in other services. » Hereditary Prince Alois describes himself as a devout Catholic who “goes to church regularly”.
The Archdiocese of Vaduz was founded to get rid of Haas in Chur
The Archdiocese of Vaduz is a very young diocese. The Holy See founded it in 1997 without consulting Liechtenstein in order to get rid of Bishop Wolfgang Haas, who had been heavily criticized in Chur. At the time, protest sites from Liechtenstein politics and laypeople left Rome unimpressed. As a result, the “Association for an Open Church” was founded, which organized the synodal process in the principality bypassing the archbishop.
© Catholic Media Center, 12/28/2022
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