Austrian bishop appoints activist in same-sex marriage as secretary

The appointment of Johannes Freitag as auxiliary bishop of Graz-Seckau has been controversial in Austria—particularly because of his decision to appoint LGBT activist Domenik Kainzinger-Webern, who lives in a civil partnership with a man, as his secretary, reports the website Razonmasfe.

This move sparked a wave of criticism in Catholic circles, particularly because of the contradiction between the Church's official teaching on homosexuality and the significance of the bishop's choice.

Catholic portals claim that this is an example of the growing indifference of some bishops to traditional doctrine.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered” and “contrary to the natural law.”

(mja)