... And he fell, and his fall was great (Mt 7,27)
(or about the use of Artificial Intelligence in documenting moral scandals)
Fr. Dr. Wolfgang Rothe alias “Whiskey-Vikar”
Who is the German priest Dr. Wolfgang Rothe? He is quite widely known (not only in Germany) mainly because of his activity among homosexuals and other sexual minorities. Since 2010, he has openly declared himself homosexual (see [C]). He does not avoid journalists, he often talks to them and gives interviews. It can be said that it promotes this sexual orientation. For example, in November 2021, a BBC journalist interviewed him in a “homosexual sauna” [F]. Do you know what a "homosexual, gay sauna" is? "A gay bathhouse, also known as a gay sauna or gay steam room, is a place ... where gays, bisexuals and other men can have sex with men" [G]. Wolfgang Rothe himself recalls this meeting: "Today I blessed a homosexual couple on the terrace of the hotel-sauna ... 'Deutsche Eiche'" - one of the most popular meeting places for homosexuals in Munich (although places as high as the "roof terrace" can be dangerous to him - as we shall see in a moment. In my opinion, he should rather avoid them...) He is also called "Whiskey-Vikar": "he is considered an expert on Scotch whiskey and is known for combining this knowledge with lectures and publications on spiritual topics" [C]. From 2002, he was secretary to Kurt Krenn, Bishop of St. Pölten in Austria near Vienna (he ordained him). He was also the deputy rector of the local seminary, which became famous because of a huge moral scandal. The American painter Terry Nelson from Minneapolis (USA) painted a painting entitled "Seminary Visitation" illustrating this affair. (I really liked his idea to document these kinds of events and scandals in such a way. )
According to [H]: “that night he (i.e. “Whiskey-Vikar”) fell from the balcony of his apartment on the second floor after drinking a large amount of alcohol. He had a concussion and a broken arm and now he says that he doesn't remember anything from that night ...". "Whiskey-Vikar" is a public person - so almost everything that concerns him can be of interest to us and others ... And apparently he is looking for publicity - why not help him with that ? ("Whiskey-Vikar" does not deny the fact of his fall from the balcony, although he explains it differently - we will deal with his explanation in a moment)
Let's try to visualize this "whiskey-vikara" fall from its balcony. But how to do it ? I am not a painter myself, so I will use a computer and the following Artificial Intelligence programs available on the Internet that create paintings based on their description:
https://www.craiyon.com/
https://deepai.org/machine-learning-model/text2img
https://dezgo.com/
https://picsart.com/ai-image-generator
And here's what I’ve got:
But I like the ones here better (here you can better see that only one step separates him from danger, from falling!):
But what does "Whiskey-Vikar" itself say about this? What is his story? Well, he claims (e.g. in an interview published a few months ago for "Deutsche Welle") - and in the most serious way - that it is the result of some medicine that his superior-bishop gave him ... Drowned with a glass of wine ... Only one ... And then The Bishop made him sit on the sofa - and tried to rape him!!! “I didn't know what the bishop gave me. It was a psychotropic drug and combining it with alcohol is obviously a very bad idea. From then on, I lost the thread. I don't remember anything from that evening. At some point later that night, I jumped or fell off the balcony of my apartment. I don't know, I don't remember anything" - see [L] (this is yet another interview given by «Whiskey-Vicar» for "Deutsche Welle"! They have something more than friendship in common, they are accomplices in this affair! )
So Wolfgang Rothe claims he was the victim of attempted rape - and by his bishop!!!
Here is the next batch of pictures (they are not so idyllic anymore and there is more than one person in them):
And this:
And finally this:
How to comment on something like this ? We need to get to know more about Fr. Dr. Wolfgang Rothe… And especially with the role he played in the scandal of the seminary in St. Pölten.
St. Pölten seminary
One would expect that the atmosphere in such an institution would be more conducive to spiritual development and learning (even if not entirely ascetic). But it wasn't. According to [I] p. 145: “The story really begins on November 10, 2003, when technical experts working on a publicly available computer at the St. Pölten discovered pictures and pornographic films on it and reported it to the seminar director Ulrich Küchl. On November 27, twenty-nine seminary students asked Küchl to investigate the matter". So between November 10th and November 27th nothing happened there (very interesting)! Finally, after more than two weeks, the students submitted a petition to the rector: apparently they were afraid that the problem of "pornographic materials" would be "swept under the carpet", i.e. ignored! (later someone will anonymously send compromising pictures to the newspapers, to the bishop, etc. with the following words attached: "please act for the good of the Church. Those who suffer scandal say to you 'Thank you'"). And this petition seems to have achieved its goal: "The next day, Küchl... informed the State Prosecutor". Thus began the worldwide church sex scandal in Austria… The police and church investigation was launched after students "decided to put an end to years of silence about the activities that took place in the seminary." More than 40,000 (yes, forty thousand) porn images and videos were found in the computers of the seminary: child pornography (it’s a crime in Austria), acts of pedophilia and bestiality (for ex. a rape of a 5-year-old boy, sex with animals...) and so on and so on... Other photos of the rector and his deputy caressing and kissing student seminary priests were also published (some of them are circulating on the Internet to this day). "One of these photos caused much later speculation mainly in the US about the nature of the kiss : it was asked whether it was in fact what Americans would call 'French Kiss'". The Austrian weekly "Profil" (profil.au) reported that "both the rector and his deputy had homosexual relations with students, using pedophile pictures for stimulation", "Stories came to light about Küchl and Rothe's alleged involvement in orgies with their seminarians“ , “several other photos were circulated and published by the media” , (for ex. Rector Küchl touching a cleric’s fly!).
Kurt Krenn (the bishop of St. Pölten) asserted that "the photo of Rothe kissing a young seminarian had absolutely nothing to do with homosexuality and was just a kind of ‘boyish stupidity’", that "photos of kissing and caressing priests is simply ‘Bubendummiheiten (childish, youthful pranks)’". And he openly questioned their authenticity (hadn't they been processed by computer technology?)
(if you want to form your own opinion about this passionate kiss, you can still see it here: [F]. But you have to hurry because who knows how long they will be there? Although, as they say, nothing is lost on the internet forever… )
I “asked Artificial Intelligence” how she imagined such a kiss and I got this:
And https://www.media.io/ on the basis of the (very blurry) photo from [F] of that "famous kiss" created such a suitable image:
In vain... A former seminarian also accused Rector Ulrich Küchl of homosexual behavior... This is how this huge scandal broke out… One of the most important scandals in the Catholic Church in modern times…
It is also worth noting the interesting nickname of Fr. Ulrich Küchl, rector of the seminar: "Frau Propstin"(see [I]). Herr Rektor Küchl was called by his young favorites "Frau Propstin i.e. Madam or Lady Rector" ! "Frau Propstin in der Sakristei / Lady Rector in the sacristy" - the seminarians used to say ... So "Whiskey-Vikar" was a substitute for "Frau Propstin / Lady Rector" - it's even funny...
The daily practice in a peculiar atmosphere of the seminary was indeed very special: "Homosexual passion and jealousy ruled the day, embedded in complex interpersonal dynamics between favorites and outsiders", "fun drunken nights" (some students would flee to the attic to sleep peacefully), "perverse male couple blessing ceremonies" ... There were scenes of jealousy, intrigue, betrayal, psychoterror … The Rector Ulrich Küchl "supposedly took his favorites with him to his residence in Eisgarn on weekends". Occasionally there was a permutation of favorites between homosexual couples... And: "Those who were supposed to oppose these practices were harassed and intimidated"! "Neither Ulrich Küchl nor Wolfgang Rothe were ready to admit that they were practicing homosexuals" [I]. They pleaded that they were not involved, explained their ignorance... And finally resigned - but without admitting any guilt! How could the seminary management not know what was going on with such a small group of students living together in one place? In such institutions, seminarians are usually under close observation. All student-priests have to go to confession and everyone has his spiritual director... These two, "Frau Propstin" and his (her?) deputy "Whiskey-Vikar" apparently think we're all idiots (and insult my intelligence!). And yet he managed to convince many of his ignorance (for ex. Wikipedia stated: "Neither state nor ecclesiastical investigation has revealed Dr. Rothe's misconduct that should be punished"[7]. And about Ulrich Küchl: "He has always denied the allegations against him and still does" [15]). Wolfgang Rothe delayed revealing his homosexuality until 2010. Only then he publicly did his 'come out' - six years later! If this had been known already in 2004, who would have believed in his innocence then? If Wolfgang Rothe had already blessed gay couples back then, if he had already visited gay saunas back then, as he does today, who would have believed his ignorance? Bishop Kurt Krenn, who initially ruled out resigning, finally realized that he had no other choice. The Vatican announced on October 7, 2004 that his resignation had been accepted for "serious misconduct" (see [J]) ("theologian Paul Zulehner explained in an interview with Die Welt that Kurt Krenn was addicted to alcohol and therefore could no longer perform his duties properly ... Krenn had previously undergone alcohol addiction treatment in a Munich clinic" - see [D]. P. Zulehner - he teaches at the University of Vienna - also said: “His health is very bad. I doubt that he will ever be able to accept his responsibility as a bishop for what he has contributed to” see [D],[E]. Does the fact of alcoholism of the bishop have anything to do with the pseudonym of his secretary? With his penchant for whisky?)
Klaus Küng, the new Bishop of St Pölten, tried unsuccessfully to persuade Wolfgang Rothe to voluntarily resign from the priesthood (you can make a guess based on the photos [F] that W. Rothe missed his vocation, he could have made a career in Hollywood in the roles of a lover-seducer).
"The saddest thing about St Pölten Seminary, Bishop Küng said, was that the homosexual atmosphere discouraged heterosexual candidates". “Deutsche Welle” had already written about Wolfgang Rothe on the occasion of the “St Pölten seminar scandal” who made the news the world over (see [P]). It's their old friend...
In fact, the scandal began ten days before the porn photos were discovered - with a mysterious death: "On October 31, 2003, a fifty-three year old seminarian from St. Pölten, Ewald S., was found dead in Alten Donau (a branch of the Danube near Vienna). The police gave the official cause of death as drowning, but did not completely rule out a crime" [I] (p.146). There were rumors that it was a murder! Before he was somehow led to his death ("...Ewald S... was led to his death..." [I] p.153 ), Ewald S. confided to someone that there were three "bad people” in the seminary...
The balance of this scandal is rather extraordinary :
- the collapse of an old, more than two-century-old institution (the seminary was closed) ;
- public scandal on an international, even planetary scale;
- the lives and vocations of students turned upside down;
- a seminarian tried and convicted;
- a suicide attempt;
- a mysterious death...
Pretty impressive, isn't it? And, no one feels guilty about it...
As I said before, Terry Nelson, from the USA, painted a picture influenced by this scandal. As he explains in his blog: « I did a retablo/ex-voto style painting called Seminary Visitation based upon the Wolfgang Rothe seminary scandal. It's a weird painting, no doubt - but it is part of my series on documenting the sexual scandal and cover-up. »
Here is that painting :
It depicts a procession entering, three half-naked figures of startled, hiding young men, escaping pigs, some kind of strange winged ghost (or angel?)...
So it's actually quite a complete and adequate commentary on the situation in St. . Polten!
"Whiskey-Vikar" Jump?/Fall? from the balcony (revisited)
Knowing what happened in that Austrian seminary, we can now more easily form an opinion about the fall of Fr. Dr. W. Rothe.
Let me put it this way: did the person who was co-responsible for the scandal described above in St. Pölten, deserves his accusations to be taken seriously? According to him - yes, the fall from the balcony did indeed take place. But someone else is responsible for it, someone else is to blame! Didn't he say the same thing in St. Polten? Isn't he lying, like in the seminary, when he denied any responsibility for what happened there? But why should it be any different this time? Who can guess what's going on in the poor head of the Whiskey Vicar? Or - in his heart? Isn't it amazing? Doesn't he just take his sexual fantasies, obsessions, or dreams for reality?
And why did "Deutsche Welle" such an important world publisher (it is worth noting that the planning of "Deutsche Welle" activities is determined by the Bundestag, i.e. the German parliament) consider it appropriate to participate so actively in what many will consider calumny? Because yes, "Deutsche Welle" has strongly decided to support Wolfgang Rothe's accusations and to give him and his accusations so wide publicity! They practically created a tandem with him! (They've published at least three interviews with him - they're old associates).
But the same or similar has also happened before and in another case.… In 2021, after W. Rothe's complaint, the German court decided that the article "On the need to curb homosexual cliques in the Church" published by the Polish philosopher prof. Dariusz Oko in the scientific journal "Theologisches" constituted "incitement to hatred" against homosexuals (the journal "Theologisches" / theologisches.net is a scientific theological journal). In the article, the author describes the homosexual lobby operating in the Roman Catholic Church, draws attention to cases of abuse by homosexual clergy and describes in detail the mechanisms used by the clergy to avoid responsibility. Fr. D. Oko describes such clergy as a "colony of parasites" and as a "homosexual plague" or "a cancer that is even ready to kill its host." "I collect known facts about homosexuals in cassocks and their customs ... The 'Lavender mafia' has a similar role as the mafia in Sicily" said Fr. D. Oko. The court initially sentenced him on a fine of €4,800 or 120 days in prison. The (92-year-old!) German priest and editor-in-chief of the magazine, Johannes Stöhr, was also punished. And on the eve of the trial, "Deutsche Welle" saw fit to publish an interview with W. Rothe and give him the opportunity to present his accusations and allegations (see, for example: [A], [N])! (Was it psychological preparation for Father D. Oko and Father J. Stöhr for the next day's trial?)
How could this have happened? Did Wolfgang Rothe have powerful, important friends? (how good it is to have such influential buddies - it's a pity that in such a morally dubious case!)
And who is behind it? And does not this scandal threaten to undermine the prestige of such an important institution as the German parliament?
I would also add this: how lucky was Cardinal George Pell from Australia (similarly accused - wrongly, as it turned out in the end) that he did not meet Wolfgang Rothe in his life! He probably wouldn't get out of prison easily...
P.S. Let's make a movie!
The idea of Terry Nelson to document such events with the help of images & art and the possibilities of Artificial Intelligence are indeed potentially very interesting and significant. I suggest to go a step further in this direction: let's write a film script together - more or less - based on the events described here (and in [N])! The working title of the film could be, for example, "Counterattack of the Brotherhood of the Nine Commandments." I invite everyone to cooperate with ideas, suggestions (talk about it around you!)... Those interested will find the first few ideas in [N]...
[A] https://www.dw.com/pl/polski-ksi%C4%85dz-odpowie-przed-niemieckim-s%C4%85dem-mia%C5%82-pod%C5%BCega%C4%87-do-nienawi%C5%9Bci/a-61838232 Permalink: //p.dw.com/p/4BSwq
[B] https://www.salon24.pl/u/edalward/1228331,proces-ksiedza-d-oko-i-j-stoehr-a
[C] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_F._Rothe
[D] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Krenn , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Krenn
[E] https://www.welt.de/print-welt/article331087/Bischof-Krenn-hat-seine-Amtszeit-faktisch-selbst-beendet.html
[F] « German priest performs gay pseudo-blessing in Munich’s gay sauna... »
https://www.gloria.tv/post/7gPXFV292yBWCGPV3ipGG4h4A
[G] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_bathhouse
[H] « The Defenestration of Poelten » (Jan 21, 2005)
https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/defenestration-poelten/
[I] Pieter Judson, A Scandal in the Seminary, in : Contemporary Austrian Studies Vol 15 « Sexuality in Austria » Ed. by Gunter Bischof Anton Pelinka and Dagmar Herzog 2017 Routledge Taylor & Francis Group London and New York First publ. 2009 by Transation Publishers Published 2017 Routledge, p.145 – 157
https://books.google.fr/books?id=tywrDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA146&lpg=PA146&dq=2003+%22ewald+s.%22+danube&source=bl&ots=PDvAhZZYg7&sig=ACfU3U1MZmkOTMYYUi1WZDuQhNoSwgW2tA&hl=fr&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjsseiQjob7AhUEwYUKHfqID1QQ6AF6BAgpEAM#v=onepage&q=2003%20%22ewald%20s.%22%20danube&f=false
[J] https://www.cath.ch/newsf/rome-le-vatican-officialise-la-demission-de-mgr-kurt-krenn-eveque-de-st-poelten/
[K] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulrich_K%C3%BCchl
[L] https://www.dw.com/en/with-the-whisky-vicar-through-scotland/video-63450618
4.18 (-8:18) – 5.21(-7:15)
[M] https://abbey-roads.blogspot.com/2022/02/catholic-teaching-inciting-hatred.html
[N] https://ebrazylia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18939
or
https://www.salon24.pl/u/edalward/1281435,the-case-of-fr-d-oko-and-fr-j-st-hr
[P] https://learngerman.dw.com/en/sex-and-porn-scandal-hits-austrian-catholic-seminary/a-1266171
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