Schönborn criitical of some John Paul appointments

In a report in The Tablet of May 23 Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn said that he is of the opinion that  some of the episcopal appointments made by Pope St John Paul II had gone badly wrong.

He cites the appointment of his predecessor Benedictine, Hans Hermann Groer, whom John Paul appointed personally, and breaking a promise that he would consult Viennese archbishop Cardinal Franz König. Groer was a paedophile.

"It was an unfortunate choice as were several of John Paul II's episcopal nominations in the second half of the 1980s. There is no doubt that John Paul had weaknesses. But who has none?"

Spectacular words from a serving archbishop about a canonised pope. Martini was one of the great cardinals of the church.

But the Dominican cardinal did point out that John Paul II also directly appointed Jesuit Carlo Maria Martini as archbishop of Milan.