Gerhard Maria Wagner

This article is about the Austrian Catholic priest Gerhard Maria Wagner. For other people of the same name, see Gerhard Wagner (disambiguation).

The Reverend Gerhard Maria Wagner
Parish Priest of Windischgarsten
Church	Catholic Church
Archdiocese	Archdiocese of Vienna
Diocese	Diocese of Linz
In office	1988 to present
Other post	Auxiliary Bishop-elect of Linz (31 January 2009 – 2 March 2009)
Orders
Ordination	10 October 1978 by László Lékai
Personal details
Born	(1954-07-17) 17 July 1954 Wartberg ob der Aist, Upper Austria, Austria
Nationality	Austrian
Denomination	Catholicism

Gerhard Maria Wagner (born 17 July 1954, Wartberg ob der Aist, Austria) is an Austrian Catholic priest who was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Linz on 31 January 2009. Amidst controversy over his views that sin had caused Hurricane Katrina, Wagner turned down the post on 15 February 2009.

Ordained ministry

On 10 October 1978, Wagner was ordained to the priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church by Cardinal László Lékai, Archbishop of Esztergom. Since 1988, he has been parish priest of Windischgarsten, Upper Austria in the Diocese of Linz.

Episcopal appointment

On 31 January 2009, Wagner was appointed auxiliary bishop of Linz, Austria, by Pope Benedict XVI. Amidst controversy over his views, Wagner resigned on 15 February 2009.

Wagner's appointment as auxiliary bishop was met with controversy among Austrian Roman Catholics, with Linz Diocese Bishop Ludwig Schwarz supportive, an informal group of priests led by Upper Austria church dean Franz Wild opposed, and Graz-Seckau Diocese Bishop Egon Kapellari optimistic that the "crisis" would be overcome by "good will" from both supporters and opponents.

Two weeks after his appointment Wagner requested its revocation because of the widespread criticism. In those 2 weeks the number of people leaving the Church had quadrupled in his Linz congregation, with similar or even higher numbers in the neighbouring communities, many of the ex-parishioners naming Wagner's appointment as the reason for their departure. The Times-Picayune reported Wagner's announcement in an Associated Press article concluding with a comparison between the Wagner situation and that surrounding the Holy See's decision to lift the excommunication of the bishops of the Society of St. Pius X, particularly Holocaust-denier Richard Williamson. The Vatican formally accepted the resignation and dispensed Wagner from his appointment on 2 March 2009.

Views

Wagner alleged that the Harry Potter novels partake of satanism.

Wagner became widely known in the world press for his 2005 comment attributing Hurricane Katrina to God's ire toward the sins of New Orleans.

Wagner connected Yoga to demons.

In 2014 Gerhard Maria Wagner published with Norbert Blaichinger Heaven or Hell in German, characterizing Liturgia verbi as competitive among priests and lay people. Vienna weekly Falter had called Wagner's positions fundamentalist obscurantism in 2010.