Survey of 500 Austrian priests shows strong support for ordination of married men, women

A survey of 500 Austrian parish priests indicates that 79 per cent think the Catholic church should allow married men to be ordained.

The telephone survey — commissioned by Austrian broadcaster ORF — also found that 51 per cent of those questioned say women should be allowed to become priests.

Austria, where an estimated 65 per cent of the population is Catholic, has in recent years become known as the centre of a movement to liberalize the church.

A summary of the survey released Monday also said 51 per cent of the respondents say the Vatican does a poor job handling sexual abuse cases.

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