Alexander Tschugguel | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1993-06-24)24 June 1993 (age 32) Vienna, Austria |
| Occupations | Traditionalist Catholic and conservative activist |
| Parent | Walter Tschugguel |
Alexander Tschugguel (born 24 June 1993 inVienna) is an Austrian conservative political andTraditionalist Catholic activist. He was a founding member ofThe Reform Conservatives, a defunct Austrian conservative political party that set out to abolish theEuropean Parliament.
Tschugguel received international attention in 2019 for stealing statuettes of theindigenous American goddessPachamama, displayed in thebasilica of St. Peter inRome during theAmazon synod, and throwing them into theTiber.
Alexander's father, Dr. Walter Tschugguel, works as aphysician inVienna.[1]
Tschugguel left theEvangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Austria, and converted toCatholicism at fifteen.[2] He is a member of theTraditionalist Catholic movement.[3]
Tschugguel was married in 2019 in a wedding officiated by BishopAthanasius Schneider.[3]
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Tschugguel joined theanti-Communist Traditionalist Catholic networkTradition, Family, and Property in 2009. He has worked with far right politiciansEwald Stadler (formerly of theFreedom Party of Austria,[4] laterlegal counsel forPegida[5]) andBeatrix von Storch (Alternative for Germany), as well as the Catholic activistHedwig von Beverfoerde (formerly ofCDU), in opposingabortion,same-sex marriage in Austria andGermany, and the inclusion ofgender studies andsex education in schools in Germany and Austria.[3]
Tschugguel is ananti-immigration activist who declares particular concern with the influx ofMuslim refugees into Austria and Germany. He describes his political stance aspatriotic andmonarchist.[6] He acts as a spokesperson for theYoung European Student Initiative, a conservative Christian association originating from thePaneuropean Union.[7] In 2013, he assisted Ewald Stadler with the founding ofThe Reform Conservatives, a short-lived Austrian conservative political party that aspired to reverse theMaastricht Treaty and abolish theEuropean Parliament.[8][6][9]
In 2014, Tschugguel co-organized a bus tour in Germany with von Beverfoerde to campaign against same-sex marriage. In 2018 and 2019, he was the co-organizer of the Vienna March for Life.[10][11] In May 2019, he organizedRosary for Austria, a Latin Mass and prayer event at theKarlskirche.[3]
On 21 October 2019, Tschugguel and an accomplice stole five statues, reportedly of theInca fertility goddessPachamama, from theChurch of Santa Maria in Traspontina, and threw them from thePonte Sant'Angelo into theTiber.[12][13] The statues were on display as part of theAmazon Synod taking place in theVatican.[14] He came forward on 4 November 2019 in aYouTube video.[15][16] Tschugguel, who had removed the statues believing them to be a violation of theFirst Commandment, received support from various high-ranking church officials after the incident, including Bishop Anthanasius Schneider, CardinalRaymond Leo Burke, and CardinalWalter Brandmüller.[17][18] Tschugguel's actions were criticized by CardinalChristoph Schönborn, the Archbishop of Vienna, who called the act "scandalous and outrageous".[19] Since coming forward, Tschugguel went on a speaking tour in the United States organized byLifeSite News, theAmerican Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property, andTaylor Marshall.[20]
In 2019, Tschugguel founded St. Boniface Institute, a Traditionalist Catholic organisation, with the stated goal of fightingpaganism andglobalism within the church, and to "rally those who do not want to bow down to 'Mother Earth'".[21]Saint Boniface is invoked as ananti-environmentalist figure who cuts down theDonar's Oak to build a church.[22] The institute aims to connect Traditionalist Catholic communities in Europe.[1]
In a public address in 2019, Tschugguel alleged that theUnited Nations and theEuropean Unionoverstated climate change, and branded it an item of thecommunist agenda. He praisedDonald Trump's withdrawal from theParis Agreement, and attackedPope Francis over his concern with theAmazon.[20]
In December 2019, Tschugguel organized a prayer protest outside ofSt. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna against the hosting of theLife Ball, anLGBTQ-friendly annual charity event to raise money forHIV and AIDS awareness, by the cathedral. He received support from the excommunicated ArchbishopCarlo Maria Viganò.[23][24]
On 18 January 2020, Tschugguel protested alongside Hedwig von Beverfoerde, Viganò,Roberto de Mattei, andGabriele Kuby inMunich, demanding "clarity and coherence" and an end to "dissimulation and deception" in theCatholic Church in Germany from Pope Francis and theGerman Bishops' Conference. Among the organisers, named asAcies Ordinata, were 130 members ofCatholic laity from Germany, Austria, Italy, Brazil, Chile, Canada, and the United States.[25]
