LINZ (Catholic Online) - The Diocese of Linz in Austria has become a center of almost every heretical and heterodox tendency within the European Catholic Church.

The ever feisty but often accurate Web Blog, entitled “Catholic Church Conservation” (see http://cathcon.blogspot.com/) has been following the blatant liturgical abuses and sometimes overt but under the radar acts of infidelity in this Diocese for a very long time. It has done so with a dry sense of humor and courageous clarity of insight.

They now report that the long awaited new Bishop of the Diocese has been announced. The new Bishop was not on the short list of most and, well, things will soon be changing for the faithful in Linz who long to be fully Catholic:

“The extremely conservative current parish priest of Windischgarsten, Maria Gerhard Wagner, is new Bishop of the Diocese of Linz.

“The news leaked from Vienna church sources to the Upper Austrian News will be officially announced in the next few days. Many engaged Catholics of the Diocese of Linz will perceive this as a provocation. The diocese could have a test of endurance.

“According to unconfirmed information, no candidate was considered appearing on the proposed list of Linz Diocesan Bishop Ludwig Schwarz. Allegedly, Rome has directly taken the decision. Even the Vienna Archbishop Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn was not directly involved in the decision-making.

“Vicar General Severin Lederhilger could feel deep disappointment at this decision. The Vicar-General was considered one of the favorites and was also next to the former Chaplain of the Seminary of Linz, Johann Hintermaier on the Bishop’s three name candidate list.

“The future bishop is so far noted mainly for controversial statements and absolute fidelity to Rome.”

Stay tuned.

The BBC is now reporting this story. They are trying to connect the lifting of the excommunications of the Bishops of the SSPX and the horrid comments of one of their numbers as it related to the holocaust, with this new appointment.

The SSPX Bishop Williamson was silenced by his superiors and publicly apologized. The Holy See strongly rebuked the evil comment and then reaffirmed its unbroken support and affection for the Jewish people. And, most importantly, the soon to be new Bishop of Lintz has no connection to the SSPX.

However, these facts do not seem to matter to the BBC.

The plan is apparently to lump all “ultraconservative” (read faithful to the Magisterium) appointments by the Holy Father in the future to this seriously disappointing turn of events in the SSPX reconciliation process. The long term goal seems to be to paint Pope Benedict XVI as some kind of reactionary who is opposed to “progress” in the Church.

At the end of the BBC report, the newspaper made this remark: “Austrian Catholics gave only a lukewarm welcome to the Pope when he visited Vienna in 2007.”

What the BBC does not seem to understand is that orthodoxy and orthopraxy are not some throwback to the past but signal instead a work of the Holy Spirit within the Church and for the world. The future of true progress passes through a dynamically revived Catholic faith, life and worship in Europe and around the rest of the world.