Vienna’s archbishop: ‘What comes from the Holy Spirit, canon law cannot stop’

Archbishop Josef Grünwidl of Vienna has called for a Church in which “renewal and change” are possible, telling Austria’s bishops that what comes from the Holy Spirit cannot be stopped by canon law.

Grünwidl delivered the sermon on March 11 at the Austrian Bishops’ Conference spring plenary in a Styrian parish church, Kathpress reported.

The Vienna archbishop said he was firmly convinced that “what comes from the Holy Spirit, canon law cannot hold back.” He said this applies also to the role of women in the Church.

Listening to women’s voices

Grünwidl addressed the recent Vatican report on “women’s participation in the life and leadership of the Church,” the final report of the synod study group, published March 10.

The document recalled the great female figures of Scripture and the example of Jesus, who in many ways did not conform to the patriarchal norms of his time, Grünwidl said.

Women were among Jesus’ followers, a publicly known sinner was permitted to touch him, and it was not an apostle but Mary Magdalene — a woman — who was the first witness of the Resurrection, the archbishop said.

“I trust that our Church will become more in keeping with Jesus and the Gospel when we walk together synodally, listen more to the voices of women, and include them in decision-making processes,” Grünwidl said.

“When we as a Church heed the demands of the Sermon on the Mount and look to the example of Jesus, renewal and change become possible,” the archbishop said. “When during Lent we try day by day not merely to serve by the book but to live love, then Easter will happen within us.”

Former member of controversial ‘Priests’ Initiative’

Grünwidl was a member of the controversial “Priests’ Initiative,” according to ORF, Austria’s public broadcasting service. The group issued a “call to disobedience” that explicitly advocated for the admission of women and married men to the priesthood.

The Austrian newspaper Der Standard also described him as a former member of the initiative who is “open to reforms.” Grünwidl’s name no longer appears on the group’s official membership list, but he was still presented as a “supporter” on a television broadcast as recently as 2023.

At the start of his tenure as apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Vienna in January 2025, Grünwidl addressed his former membership, Kathpress reported.

He said he had left the group for two reasons. He felt Pope Francis had “overtaken” the initiative’s proposals and ideas, and he could no longer support its banner slogan of disobedience. “Critical obedience” was important to him, he said, adding that he “cannot imagine open opposition to the bishop in the Church.”

Austrian broadcaster ORF reported in October 2025 that the new Vienna archbishop was “open to reforms.” He had recently emphasized that celibacy was for him personally a deliberately chosen way of life but “not a matter of faith” and should therefore not be a mandatory requirement for priests.

On the topic of women in the Church, Grünwidl identified “an urgent need for clarification,” ORF reported. He said the female diaconate should continue to be discussed and that admitting women to the College of Cardinals was conceivable.

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Source: https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/europe/vienna-s-archbishop-what-comes-from-the-holy-spirit-canon-law-cannot-stop