Abortion, LGBT activists disrupt Vatican women footballers' debut
FREE Catholic Classes
The international debut of the Vatican women's football team, which was scheduled to play in a friendly against the Vienna FC Mariahilf Saturday, was cancelled after abortion and LGBT activists disrupted the game before it began, local media reported.
We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
Highlights
Catholic Online (https://www.catholic.org)
6/24/2019 (4 years ago)
Published in Americas
Keywords: Abortion, LGBT activists, Vatican women
Vienna, Austria, (CNA) - According to several local media reports, players of the Viennese soccer team Mariahilf lifted their jerseys whilst the Vatican anthem was playing, displaying painted ovaries and pro-abortion messages. Activists also displayed LGBT banners on the sidelines at the venue.
The Vatican team, who had been invited to Vienna by FCM, decided not to go ahead with the June 22 match.
The Apostolic Nuncio in Austria, Pedro Lopez Quintana, witnessed the protests but was not involved in the decision to cancel the game, local media reported.
The friendly was scheduled to kick off in the early afternoon in a sports arena in Wien-Simmering. Beforehand, both sides had participated in a prayer service and blessing of the pitch.
Austrian state broadcaster ORF quoted one of the FCM players involved in the protest as saying the activists were "not aware of the consequences of their action in any way and would have liked to play the football match".
The activists also handed out leaflets to journalists attending the match. These stated that the activists did not assent to the Church's teaching on abortion and same-sex marriage.
"They were not aware that the timing of the action during the playing of the Vatican anthem and in the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio could be detrimental to the idea of sport and ruin many weeks of preparation", reported the ORF.
When announcing the upcoming game, the German section of Vatican News reported FCM founder Ernst Lackner as saying he had initially not expected that the Vatican team would really accept the invitation, but that the Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, had assured the Vatican team that FC Mariahilf was a serious team that was also strongly committed to charity.
The papal women's football team had its first appearance in 2018 and immediately received an invitation from FCM, which is currently playing in the Wiener Landesliga, the third highest league in domestic women's football.
---
'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'
Copyright 2021 - Distributed by Catholic Online
Join the Movement
When you sign up below, you don't just join an email list - you're joining an entire movement for Free world class Catholic education.
-
Mysteries of the Rosary
-
St. Faustina Kowalska
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
-
Saint of the Day for Wednesday, Oct 4th, 2023
-
Popular Saints
-
St. Francis of Assisi
-
Bible
-
Female / Women Saints
-
7 Morning Prayers you need to get your day started with God
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Daily Catholic
- Daily Readings for Thursday, May 16, 2024
- St. Simon Stock: Saint of the Day for Thursday, May 16, 2024
- Prayer to St. Gabriel, for Others: Prayer of the Day for Friday, May 10, 2024
- Daily Readings for Wednesday, May 15, 2024
- St. Dymphna: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, May 15, 2024
- Prayer for Travelers: Prayer of the Day for Thursday, May 09, 2024
Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.
Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.