Vienna archbishop, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, has recently bestowed a Pontifical decoration upon an Austrian socialist politician who has been leading in promoting abortion.

(kreuz.net) The archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, has again shown his sympathy for politicians who support abortion.

On June 25 he decorated the socialistic deputy mayor of Vienna, Renate Brauner, with the Pontifical Order of St. Gregory the Great.

The Order of St. Gregory is the fourth highest award for merits regarding the Roman-Catholic Church. It is directly granted by the Pope and is one of the highest decorations that is conferred on lay people.

The award was instituted by pope Gregory XVI. in 1831. The inaugural brief states that it is intended for “gentlemen of proven loyalty to the Holy See” who “are deemed worthy to be honoured by a public expression of esteem on the part of the Holy See”.

Renate Brauner was honoured with this order for alleged merits in the field of the Austrian health care system and for her collaboration with ecclesiastical institutions in that field.

Brauner is also a well-known defender of abortion which Second Vatican Council has called an “unspeakable crime”. Pro-abortion politicians are excommunicated by Canon Law.

During the bestowal of the Pontifical order upon Mrs Brauner, Cardinal Schönborn stated according to the official website of his archdiocese:

“It’s good if the finance minister in the city council has first been responsible for the health care system because, this way, we can be sure that the state money will be in good hands. “

Mrs Maria Hampel-Fuchs, former president of the Vienna parliament, said in her honorific speech:

“This bestowal of the Order is an expression of the good cooperation between the city of Vienna and the Catholic Church”.

In the year 2000, Austrian right-wing politician Herbert Haupt started a move in order to forbid aborting handicapped children after the third month of pregnancy.

Current law allows the elimination of disabled children until the beginning of contractions in the mother.

Mrs Brauner was among the politicians who opposed Haupt: “Hands off the abortion law!” – she said according to the information-service of the city of Vienna:

“I consider Haupt’s suggestion to reduce the period of the so-called eugenic indication, an attempt to call abortion into question. This becomes clear as Haupt challenges the exclusive responsibility of the woman to decide for or against an abortion.”

In autumn 2005 she said: “If we socialist women speak about lasting values, we mean lasting women’s values – abortion rights are part of it.”

This has already been the second time that cardinal Schönborn has bestowed the Order of St. Gregory to a promoter of abortion.

In November 2006 he honoured Gertraude Steindl, the secretary general of the ‘Aktion Leben Österreich’ – an Austrian pregnancy centre.

‘Aktion Leben’ is co-financed by the Austrian bishop conference and controversial because of its attitude toward abortion, contraception and abortifacient pills.

‘Aktion Leben’ is also defending the current Austrian abortion law and pregnant consultations that considers the decision to abort a legitimate outcome.