Pope Accepts Resignation of Bishop of Sankt Poelten, Austria

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 7, 2004 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II accepted the resignation of Bishop Kurt Krenn from the governance of the Diocese of Sankt Poelten, in the wake of a pornography scandal at the local seminary.

The Vatican press office today announced that Bishop Krenn, 68, cited Paragraph 2 of Canon 401 of the Code of Canon Law: "A diocesan Bishop who, because of illness or some other grave reason, has become unsuited for the fulfillment of his office, is earnestly requested to offer his resignation from office."

He is being succeeded by Bishop Klaus Küng, 64, until now bishop of Feldkirch, whom John Paul II named on July 20 as apostolic visitor for the Diocese of Sankt Poelten.

Sankt Poelten was shaken in recent months by a scandal over homosexual behavior and pornography, involving the rector, vice rector and some seminarians.

The seminary was closed Aug. 12 after Bishop Küng's investigation.

Klaus Küng was born in Bregenz. He studied medicine in Innsbruck and Vienna from 1958-1964, and received his doctorate. He has been a member of Opus Dei since 1962. He earned a licentiate in theology in 1969 from the Lateran University.

He was ordained a priest in the Opus Dei in Madrid in August 1970. From 1976 to 1989, he was Opus Dei's vicar general for Austria. In January 1989 he was named to be bishop of Feldkirch.

Bishop Küng is a member of the Vatican Congregation for Clergy and a consultor for the Pontifical Council for the Family.

John Paul II also accepted the resignation of the Auxiliary Bishop Heinrich Fasching of Sankt Poelten, 75, for reasons of age.