Politics
Tuesday February 6, 2007
See today's LifeSiteNews stories
Austrian Bishop Laun Says Mall Owner Excommunicated for Providing Space for Abortion Clinic
Cardinal Schönborn responds, "The destruction of life must not be made banal and viewed like a shopping trip."
By John-Henry Westen
VIENNA, Austria, February 6, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Salzburg Auxiliary Bishop Andreas Laun has caused a stir in the German press by saying publicly that a Catholic businessman who rented space in his shopping mall to an abortion clinic has excommunicated himself. The businessman, Richard Lugner, at first threatened to sue Bishop Laun but has since thought better of the lawsuit but has not reconsidered his aiding and abetting the killing of unborn children.
In an interview with the Catholic News Agency Austria (http://www.kath.net ), Bishop Laun was asked if Lugner's action constituted an automatic excommunication (latae sententiae). Bishop Laun replied, "Certainly. The catechism says: 'The formal cooperation in an abortion is a grave delict. The Church punishes this violation with the penalty of excommunication.' Because Lugner cooperates in abortions, by letting them happen in his shopping mall, the norm applies to him and he is excommunicated.
Scandal broke when Erich Leitenberger, the press secretary of Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, came to Lugner's defence. Leitenberher, also the editor-in-chief of the Catholic Press Agency in Germany 'Kathpress', disparaged the work of kath.net and Bishop Laun saying, "Academic discussions about excommunication will not help to save the right to life of even one child."
The scandal was quickly put to an end however when Cardinal Schönborn commented to the largest paper in Austria on the matter. Backing Auxiliary Bishop Laun, the Cardinal 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." In an interview with Kath.net, Cardinal Schönborn said that he had asked Lugner to not sign a contract with the abortion clinic. He added that he was pleased with the discussion the controversy had caused.
News tip and translation courtesy of Gerald Augustinus of http://closedcafeteria.blogspot.com
Back to TopSHARE THIS STORY: E-mail Print Newsvine Digg Reddit Del.icio.us Facebook
Latest Headlines
- Human Rights Commission Drops Complaint Against Catholic Magazine
- Canada's Catholic Bishops United in Opposition to Order of Canada Being Awarded to Morgentaler
- Highlights from Canada's Debate on the Morgentaler Order of Canada Fiasco
- Golden Arches Awash in Rainbow Colors: Family Group Boycotts McDonalds for Support for Homosexual Agenda
- Bishops Investigate Report: 39 Abortions, 9684 Sterilizations Performed in Texas Catholic Hospitals
- President Bush and Senator McCain Address National Right to Life Conference
- Formal Request Filed to Terminate Morgentaler's Appointment to the Order of Canada
- UK Catholic, Muslim Doctors May be Forced to Refer for Abortion
- UK Contraception and Abortion Promoters calling for Sex Ed for Four Year-Olds
- LAPD Sued for Alleged Discrimination against Officer's Religious Beliefs
- Morgentaler Order of Canada Protest Set for July 9 in Ottawa
- LifeSiteNews Now on Facebook - Join Our Group, Spread the Word
Most Read this Week
- Cover of Maclean's Magazine Notes Children as Young as 8 View Online Porn Regularly
- Archbishop Calls All Catholics to Demand National Award to Abortion Doc be Revoked
- Pro-Life Groups Horrified by Morgentaler's Appointment to the Order of Canada
- Interview with World's Leading Proponent of Natural Family Planning on the Dangers of Contraception
- Pro-Life Group Appalled that Abortionist Morgentaler Would Even be Considered for Order of Canada
- Online Polls Ask Whether Morgentaler Should Have Been Awarded Order of Canada
- Interview – Philadelphia Cardinal Rigali: The Church Will Never Justify Homosexual Conduct
- Confirmed: Advisory Council Has Voted to Award Order of Canada to Abortionist Henry Morgentaler
- New Ad Takes Obama to Task for His Abortion Record
- Numerous MPs Condemn Morgentaler Order of Canada Decision
MORE NEWS: 
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page Last 10 Days Archives Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any Internet re-publishing of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews that have come from other news sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.