By Stephen K. Ryan

No, not him…He is jewish by the way (great New Yorker article here on him) No – the most interesting man in the world – ok, Catholic man in the world – today has to be Cardinal Christoph Schonborn from Austria.

Are there really any words to describe what Cardinal Schonborn, the Archbishop of Vienna, is undertaking right now in Europe?

Can we compare Cardinal Schonborn’s actions today to anything else in the modern era of the Catholic Church?

The National Catholic Reporter, this week, published an outstanding article on Cardinal Schonborn and the vortex in which he finds himself embroiled in. In the article the “Reporter” writes: In his chrism Mass sermon on April 2, the Monday of Holy Week, he offered his own Jesus-solution on how priests can cope with three of the most problematic situations confronting them in their pastoral work today:

The large number of people, including many young, conservative Catholics, who cohabit without being married;
The large number of divorced people who remarry;
The increasing number of same-sex partnerships.
Add to this list of sticky issues confronting the Catholic Church, Cardinal Schonborn has thrown into the mix the still unresolved spiritual movement known as Medjugorje by inviting “visionaries” of the Blessed Virgin Mary into his Cathedral to testify to his congregation.

To fully understand Cardinal Schonborn’s incomparable pursuits, first it must be understood that Cardinal Schonborn, is a global figure in the Catholic Church and is a former student and close friend of Pope Benedict XVI. Last month he made world-wide headlines when he overruled a parish priest’s decision to remove a gay man in a same sex marriage from a church committee. The gay man had been elected by church members and Cardinal Schonborn said the young man “was in the right place.” Cardinal Schonborn serves as a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Earlier this year he was appointed as the first member of the newly created Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. The young Cardinal is widely recognized as “Palabile” (could one day be Pope) and as Editorial Director of the Catholic Catechism – the official rule book of the Catholic Church – he is greatly respected throughout the world. His book “You Cat” – a book on the Catholic Catechism is currently the bestselling Catholic book in the world with over 1.7 million copies sold.

Cardinal Schonborn’s impeccable catholic credentials speak for themselves, and so within this context, we find it extraordinary that he is proclaiming, from the roof tops, or more accurately, from inside the great St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, Austria, that the Blessed Mother is now appearing on earth in an unprecedented fashion to six “Visionaries” and he is urging the Catholic faithful to pay close attention. The Austrian Archbishop, by his actions and support of Medjugorje lends support to claims that the Blessed Virgin Mary is revealing Herself to the world and that her presence on earth is for the clear purpose of demonstrating that God truly exists.

In an extraordinary event in Vienna, Austria late last year, Cardinal Schonborn celebrated Mass with a man who claims to see and speak to the Blessed Virgin Mary. His name is Ivan Dragicevic. Ivan is one of six visionaries who say they see the Virgin Mary and these six people are at that center of a mysterious phenomenon known the world over as “Medjugorje.

Ivan was in Austria at the invitation of Cardinal Schonborn not only to attend Mass but to have his apparition inside St. Stephen’s Cathedral.

The entire apparition and Mass were shown locally on TV and broadcast throughout the world over the internet. To see Cardinal Schonborn, close friend of the Pope, on live television sitting patiently and reverentially in the grand setting of St. Stephen’s Cathedral as the visionary falls into ecstasy and visits with the Blessed Mother is something unique in the modern world. Watch Video Here

But many are asking why would Cardinal Schonborn provide such a high profile platform to a supernatural phenomenon that has not been approved by the Catholic Church? Why the invitation? Afterall, the Vatican just recently commissioned a special task force to determine the authenticity of Medjugorje. What are his motivations? Does he sense time is running out for the troubled Church in Europe?

Few would argue that the Catholic Church is not under siege and in crisis the world over. The Catholic Church in Europe has been devastated by the sex abuse horror. Austria particularly has been hard hit and has seen a troubling exodus of worshipers. Furthermore there is now a growing disobedience movement in Austria led by rebellious priests who are calling for, among a number of contentious issues, that the Eucharist be offered at the Mass by lay people when a priest is not available. The responsibility for all of these problems in Austria, of course, falls on the shoulders of Cardinal Schonborn, and in the midst of this crisis, rather than schedule more meetings, appoint new commissions, or hire consultants, the Archbishop has instead reached out to visionaries of Medjugorje to come to his Cathedral and pray.

Cardinal Schonborn’s invitation was not an “aside”. This is not a promise kept. This is not a PR stunt. The invitation to a visionary to experience an apparition of the Blessed Mother in a great European Cathedral in the middle of colossal upheaval within the Catholic Church is a big deal – unprecedented really. By Cardinal Schonborn’s bold and decisive action it appears, he is telling the world, under no uncertain terms, that the Church is in trouble and the best way out of the crisis is not through more meetings and task forces but to pray and to turn to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary and to seek her intercession in a time of great need. It is important not to forget the words of Our Lady at Fatima: “In the end my heart will triumph”. It would seem Cardinal Schonborn has taken these words seriously and to his heart.

It seems clear that Cardinal Schonborn, unlike many bishops in America who continue to look for solutions for what ails the Church in the political arena – urgent meeting with President Obama, issuing position papers and press releases to the New York Times – is taking a different path to repair the damage. Cardinal Schonborn has moved beyond seeking solutions to problems confronting the Catholic Church through worldly means. Schonborn is not looking to lawyers and courts to protect the faith but rather the great Cardinal understands the solution will come only from the heavens. The Catholic Church will only be restored with our prayers, our humility to God and by the intervention of the supernatural revealed to us by the presence of Our Lady here on earth who is among us today to show us the way back to Her son.