The Roman Catholic Church in Germany faced new calls on Sunday for better protection of LGBTQ rights and an end to institutional discrimination against gay people.
About 125 people, including former and current priests, teachers, church administrators and volunteers, identified as gay and queer, asking the church to consider their demands and remove ‘outdated statements’ of the doctrine of the church” in matters of sexuality and gender.
Members of the Church Community have posted seven demands on social media as part of the “OutInChurch” initiative. These demands range from queer people saying they should be able to live without fear and have access to all kinds of activities and occupations in the church without discrimination.
They said their sexual orientation should never be considered a breach of loyalty or grounds for dismissal from their profession. They call on the church to revise its statements on sexuality based on “human theological and scientific findings”.
Along with demanding equal rights, the workers also demanded that the church take responsibility for their discrimination against members of the community throughout history, calling on the bishop to take responsibility on behalf of the church.
What was the Vatican’s position?
The Vatican, seat of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church, ruled last year that priests cannot bless same-sex unions and that such blessings are not valid.
But the decision also reignited a debate on the issue, and there was considerable resistance against it in parts of Germany.
Last year, at least two bishops in Germany, including Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich, one of the pope’s top advisers, signaled support for some sort of “pastoral” blessing for same-sex unions.
In Germany and the United States, parishes and ministers have also begun to bless same-sex unions instead of marriage, with growing calls for bishops to institutionalize same-sex marriage.
However, in response to formal questions from a number of dioceses as to whether the practice was permitted, the Vatican’s doctrinal office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) made it clear that it was not. the case, judging: “negative”.
Pope Francis endorsed the response, adding that it was “not intended to be a form of unjust discrimination, but rather a reminder of the truth of the liturgical rite” of the sacrament of marriage.
rm/fb (dpa, KNA)
