Austrian priest turns down bishop appointment

A conservative priest whose promotion to bishop has polarised Catholic Church in Austria asked Pope Benedict on Sunday to revoke his appointment because of the uproar it had caused.

The resignation of Gerhard Maria Wagner, who said Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was God punishing New Orleans for its sins, came on the eve of a crisis meeting of Austria's bishops.

"Amid the fierce criticism, I arrived at the decision... to ask the Holy Father to revoke my appointment to auxiliary bishop of Linz," Bishop Wagner said in a statement published by the Austrian Catholic news agency Kathpress.

The Vatican complied with his plea, Kathpress reported.