Vienna - A former Catholic bishop has accused the Vatican of being hard and preoccupied with power and suggested Pope John Paul was straying from Christ's teachings. Dr Reinhold Stecher (75), a former bishop of Innsbruck, criticised the hierarchy in a letter to senior Catholic officials. The letter was obtained by Austrian state television, ORF, and made public yesterday.
"Rome has lost the image of mercifulness and become hard and preoccupied with power," Bishop Stecher said. In a word of warning to Pope John Paul, who is due to visit Austria next June, he said: "History shows that a Pope, too, can lose his way from Jesus's teachings."