On July 7th at 12.30 p.m. on ORF 2 and on ORF ON
Vienna (OTS) – Sandra Szabo presents “Orientation” on Sunday, July 7, 2024, at 12:30 p.m. on ORF 2 and on ORF ON with the following topics:
Decapitated Madonna: Act of vandalism on a statue of the Virgin Mary in Linz Cathedral Mary giving birth, the mother of Jesus in the middle of the act of birth: This statue of Mary, part of an art project in Linz Cathedral, probably disturbed some believers so much that her head was sawn off. It is still unclear who carried out the act of vandalism; the trail leads to reactionary Catholic circles. The CitizenGo platform, which calls for the defense of Christian values on the Internet, had previously mobilized against the statue. It is the same platform that has already thwarted the Helnwein Lenten cloth in St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna. Lisa Ganglbaur reports.
Tense relationship: AfD and churches in Germany
At the beginning of September there are elections in three large eastern German states, which, according to opinion polls, the AfD is likely to win. This puts the churches in Germany in a dilemma. In an unusually sharp statement in February 2024, the Catholic German bishops declared that the AfD was unelectable for Christians. A function in the party is not compatible with voluntary or full-time work within the church. As a result, an AfD member of the state parliament was actually excluded from the administrative board of his home parish, and further proceedings are ongoing. The Evangelical Church in Germany supports this attitude. But can the firewall against right-wing populists be maintained? Peter Beringer asked around.
From bicycles to off-road vehicles: MIVA has been helping for 75 years
The Austrian Mission and Transport Association, or MIVA for short, was founded 75 years ago. The task of the Catholic aid organization based in Stadl-Paura in Upper Austria is to finance vehicles for pastoral, social or medical projects in the countries of the global south. It all started with twelve bicycles, and today we also finance large off-road vehicles and school buses. MIVA Austria’s long-standing project partner is the Tanzanian diocese of Rulenge-Ngara. Two pastors there run a plastic recycling project and a model farm using a variety of vehicles. A report by Christian Rathner.
Monastery without nuns: A monastery scribe in Gmunden
A year ago, the last four Carmelite nuns moved out of their monastery in Gmunden due to their old age. It has been empty since then. It is unclear what will happen to the building, which is in a prime location on Lake Traunsee and close to the city – a fate that it shares with many abandoned church buildings. The Gmunden Monastery is currently being used for cultural purposes as part of the European Capital of Culture Salzkammergut 2024. The author Cornelia Hülmbauer lived in Gmunden as a “monastery scribe” for two months and processed her impressions in literary form. Mariella Kogler visited the writer in the monastery.