July 6, 2010
The common wisdom holds that Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn of Vienna was roundly reubuked when he went to see Pope Benedict XVI in Rome last week for a meeting that ultimately included Cardinal Angelo Sodano, whom he had strongly criticized in earlier comments.
But as long time church observer Christa Pongratz-Lippit tells it in a commentary in The Guardian, communiques from the Vatican often reveal more in what isn't said than what is stated. She writes from Vienna that Schoenborn, who has come out in some surprisingly frank and pointed comments urging ecclesial reform and highly critical of the church's handling of the sex abuse crisis, remains unapologetic about his remarks.
