VIENNA (LifeSiteNews) — A priest who has repeatedly appeared with a female companion in public will retire as chaplain of Vienna’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral after public backlash.
Father Anton “Toni” Faber, who has been chaplain of Austria’s most famous cathedral since 1997, will be replaced by another priest next year.
Faber said in a Radio interview with ORF that he still sees himself in Church ministry and that he wants to continue to serve as a “mediator and bridge between the Church, faith, society, politics, business, art, and culture.” He is currently engaged in intensive discussions with Vienna Archbishop Josef Grünwidl about his future, Faber added.
The announcement came several months after Faber had drawn international media attention for appearing at high-society events, such as the famous Vienna Opera Ball, with a blonde woman named Natalie Nemec accompanying him as his partner. Faber is one of the most famous priests in Austria and has been nicknamed “society Lion” for his frequent appearances at elite events.
In an interview with German outlet Süddeutsche Zeitung, Faber referred to priestly celibacy as an “elastic concept.”
According to kath.net, faithful Catholics sent an official complaint to Grünwidl, arguing that Faber’s lifestyle and public demands are no longer compatible with the image of a Catholic priest who is committed to Church discipline
Grünwidl said in an interview in April that Faber found a “solution” for priestly celibacy that the Vienna archbishop “has a hard time with.”
“We’re in talks to find a solution,” the archbishop said in April.
Faber will retire as chaplain of St. Stephen’s Cathedral next year when he turns 65, significantly earlier than the mandatory age of resignation of 75.
Faber has taken many heterodox positions in the past, including support for female ordinations and blessings of same-sex “couples,” going back to at least 2006.
While Grünwidl, who succeeded Cardinal Christoph Schönborn as archbishop of Vienna and was consecrated in January, ultimately appears to have acted on the complaints about Faber’s scandalous behavior, he himself has spoken out for the abolition of mandatory priestly celibacy. He has also expressed support for ordaining female deacons.