Florian "Floriano" Abrahamowicz (born 7 April 1961) is an Austrian priest who was formerly the

Prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...

of the

Society of St. Pius X The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) ( la, Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Pii X; FSSPX) is an international fraternity of traditionalist Catholic priests founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a leading traditionalist voice at the Secon ...

in northeastern Italy. He was expelled from the Society in February 2009 for expressing numerous

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

, including

Holocaust denial Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: ...

Early life and ordination

Florian Abrahamowicz was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, where his father, Alexander Abrahamowicz (born 10 September 1926), was a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

pastor of

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

background. Alexander's father, Jakob, had moved to Vienna from

Pojorâta Pojorâta (german: Pozoritta or Poschoritta) is a commune located in the western part of Suceava County, in the historical region of Bukovina, northeastern Romania. With a surface area of 13,770 hectares, it comprises the villages of Pojorâta— ...

in Romania before Alexander's birth. Because of his mother, Maria Teresa Amantea, an Italian pianist, Florian Abrahamowicz also has Italian citizenship.Dai lager a Priebke, la strana storia di don Floriano
, ilmessaggero.it; accessed 1 April 2015. Florian is one of five siblings, three of whom became Roman Catholic priests. The other two priests are not linked with the Society of St. Pius X or any traditionalist groups. One, Dom Johannes Paul Abrahamowicz, was

(underabbot) of the Benedictine Abbey of

Saint Paul Outside the Walls The Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls ( it, Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura), commonly known as Saint Paul's Outside the Walls, is one of Rome's four major papal basilicas, along with the basilicas of Saint John in the ...

from 2005 to 2009. He was webmaster of th
ATLAS of the Benedictine Order OSB International
until January 2008. At Saint Paul outside the Walls, he composed the official hymn of the Pauline Year, and gave interviews on

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

aspects of the Year. In December 2009, he returned to his monastery in Austria. An aunt, Elfriede Huber-Abrahamowicz (1922–2001), wrote poetry, stories, novels and philosophical treatises and lectured on the philosophy of

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

Views

Political views

In 2001, Abrahamowicz spoke at a ceremony in honour of those who died in support of

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...

, fighting, he said, for motherland and religion, "innocent victims because their murderers belonged to no legitimate army", a reference to the partisans whom he described as "poor ignorant fellows fighting for what

Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City from ...

called the perverse sect of

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

". In 2006, he said in a television interview that he viewed

Erich Priebke Erich Priebke (29 July 1913 – 11 October 2013) was a German mid-level SS commander in the SS police force (SiPo) of Nazi Germany. In 1996, he was convicted of war crimes in Italy, for commanding the unit which was responsible for the Ar ...

, a German SS officer convicted of war crimes for a 1944 massacre in Rome, in which 335 Italian civilians were killed in reprisal for the deaths of 33 German soldiers, not as an "executioner", but rather a soldier who acted "with regret and a heavy heart".La Lega: «Il Cardinale Tettamanzi è un infiltrato»
, unita.it. He is seen as unofficial chaplain of Italy's regional party

Lega Nord Lega Nord (; acronym: LN), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing, federalist, populist and conservative political party in Italy. In the run-up of the 2018 general election, the party was rebranded as (), without changing its official n ...

. In 2007,

Umberto Bossi Umberto Bossi (born 19 September 1941) is an Italian politician and former leader of Lega Nord (Northern League), a party seeking autonomy or independence for Northern Italy or Padania. He is married to the Sicilian Manuela Marrone, and has fou ...

, the leader of the party, accepted his invitation to his celebration of a

Tridentine Mass The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Traditional Rite, is the liturgy of Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church that appears in typical editions of the Roman Missal published from 1570 to 1962. Celebrated almo ...

and said there were affinities between his party and the followers of Archbishop

Marcel Lefebvre Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre (; 29 November 1905 – 25 March 1991) was a French Catholic archbishop who greatly influenced modern traditional Catholicism. In 1970, he founded the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), a community to train ...

. In 2008, Cardinal

Dionigi Tettamanzi Dionigi Tettamanzi (14 March 1934 – 5 August 2017) was an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, who was named a cardinal in 1998. He was Archbishop of Genoa from 1995 to 2004 and Archbishop of Milan from 2004 to 2011. Early years Tett ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

deplored the lack of worship facilities for Muslims in that city. In December 2008, speaking on the weekly programme of

Mario Borghezio Mario Borghezio (; born on 3 December 1947) is an Italian politician from the Northern League. Biography Born on 3 December 1947 in Turin. A former member of the Jeune Europe movement founded by Jean Thiriart, he was also a member of Ordi ...

's Padania Association on Radio Padania Libera (Radio Free Padania), Abrahamowicz attacked Cardinal Tettamanzi's views on the matter. He called on his listeners to put no trust in the Cardinal Archbishop, whom he called "the latest example of the infiltrators who try in every revolution—the English, the French, the Bolshevik and, now, the globalist—to subvert the Church from inside". He added: "Do not think that Tettamanzi represents the left wing of a Church led by the conservative Ratzinger, because in reality it is the whole Conciliar Church that is allied to those powerful forces that by Islamizing Europe aim at world domination in accordance with an anti-Christian design".

Religious views

On 5 February 2009, the day after the publication of a note by the Holy See's Secretariat of State stating that "an indispensable condition for any future recognition of the Society of Saint Pius X is their full recognition of Vatican Council II and of the Magisterium of Popes John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI", Abrahamowicz, speaking on the

Canale Italia ''Canale Italia S.r.l.'' is a Veneto-based Italian broadcasting company. History After more than 20 years broadcasting in the North-East area of Italy with the name ''Serenissima Tv'', in 2004 it acquired UHF channels from France 2 relay ''Tel ...

television network declared: "The

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

was worse than a

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

Saint Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...

tells us that

modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

is the '

cloaca maxima The Cloaca Maxima ( lat, Cloāca Maxima, lit. ''Greatest Sewer'') was one of the world's earliest sewage systems. Its name derives from Cloacina, a Roman goddess. Built during either the Roman Kingdom or early Roman Republic, it was constructed ...

' of heresies. ..So I say that the Second Vatican Council is a cloaca maxima". Shortly before, on 25 January 2009, the Sunday after the publication of the decree lifting, at their request, the excommunication of the four bishops of the Society of St. Pius X, he preached a sermon denying that there had been any excommunication to lift, since Lefebvre's consecration of four bishops on 30 June 1988 was a meritorious act, not a crime. He quoted Archbishop Lefebvre's words: "Those who excommunicate us have long since been excommunicated. Why? Because they are modernists! Being of modernist spirit, they have created a Church that is in conformity with the spirit of the world. This modernism is what was condemned by Saint Pius X, patron of the Society. This last holy Pope condemned the modernists and excommunicated them. All these spirits, modernists that they are, are excommunicated by Saint Pius X. Those persons imbued with modernist principles are those who have excommunicated us, while themselves excommunicated by Saint Pius X." He then added: "For the person who gave orders for the insulting decree of 'lifting' is

Joseph Ratzinger Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

, who continues unperturbed the modernist ecumenism of the Second Vatican Council, which he calls "a beacon we cannot renounce", thus incurring the excommunication Saint Pius X issued against the modernists. An excommunicate lifts a non-existent

censure A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. In parliamentary procedure, it is a debatable main motion that could be adopted by a majority vote. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spir ...

!''. On March 15, 2010, after a Mass in

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...

, Italy, he publicly burned a volume of Vatican II documents.

Holocaust denial controversy

On 29 January 2009, amid the

controversy Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...

over Bishop Richard Williamson's denial of

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

, Abrahamowicz said he was not sure the Nazis had used gas chambers for anything other than disinfection, claimed that the number of six million Jews killed was derived from a number used by the head of the German Jewish community without knowledge of the facts, complained that the Holocaust had wrongly been exalted, by Jews in particular, above other genocides and said that the people of Israel "initially were the people of God, ... then became the people of

deicide Deicide is the killing (or the killer) of a god. The concept may be used for any act of killing a god, including a life-death-rebirth deity who is killed and then resurrected. Etymology The term deicide was coined in the 17th century from m ...

, and ... at the end of time will reconvert to Jesus Christ."

Expulsion from SSPX

On 5 February 2009, the Italian chapter of the Society of St. Pius X issued a notification that from the following day Abrahamowicz was expelled from the Society "for serious disciplinary reasons": "Father Florian Abrahamowicz has for some time been expressing opinions differing from the official views of the Society of St. Pius X. The painful decision to expel him has become necessary in order to avoid having the image of the Society of St. Pius X further distorted with consequent harm to its work at the service of the Church."Lefebvriani, Fraternità San Pio X espelle prete negazionista
; accessed 1 April 2015.

References

External links

Website of Florian Abrahamowicz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abrahamowicz, Florian 1961 births Living people 20th-century Austrian Roman Catholic priests Austrian traditionalist Catholics Italian traditionalist Catholics People expelled from the Society of St. Pius X Austrian emigrants to Italy Austrian people of Romanian descent Traditionalist Catholic conspiracy theorists Austrian people of Romanian-Jewish descent Austrian people of Armenian descent Clergy from Vienna Austrian conspiracy theorists Austrian Holocaust deniers Traditionalist Catholic priests