The talks between the pope and Austrians, led by Vienna archbishop Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, were conducted with "brotherly dialogue and a constructive spirit," the Vatican said in a statement.

It said Benedict "recalled the urgent need for deepening the faith and complete faithfulness" to the church's doctrine.

Austria's Catholic church has been struggling to regain confidence among its members since the 2004 discovery of a huge cache of child pornography and lurid photographs of young candidates for the priesthood fondling each other and their older religious instructors.

In March, Benedict rescinded the promotion of the Rev. Gerhard Maria Wagner to auxiliary bishop in the Austrian city of Linz.

Wagner previously had come under fire for suggesting that God punished New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina. His appointment sparked an outcry from church groups who feared it could cause a new exodus of faithful from the church after record numbers renounced their affiliation in the wake of the sex scandal.