• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Republica Press

Your Business & Political News Source

REPUBLICA PRESS
Your Business & Political News Source

  • Home
  • BUSINESS
  • MONEY
  • POLITICS
  • REAL ESTATE
  • SCIENCE/TECH
  • US
  • WORLD

German Catholic Priests Defy Rome to Offer Blessings to Gay Couples

by

During the ceremony, Father Mönkebüscher walked around the nave, approaching couples who sat in pairs, socially distanced and masked. They rose as he placed a hand on their shoulders and spoke a blessing as they bowed their heads. After one lesbian couple had received their blessing, they dropped their masks and shared a kiss, wiping away tears.

Not everyone has been receptive of the initiative. One parish in Bavaria received threats from members of an arch-conservative Roman Catholic group and had to call the police to ensure the safety of participants at their ceremony.

The initiative is the latest strain between the Vatican and the Roman Catholic Church in Germany. Many parishioners in Germany have left the church, including those frustrated with what they see as an outdated approach to sexual morality and a failure to punish priests accused of abusing children.

According to official statistics, 272,771 people formally quit the Church in 2019, a record number that helped to galvanize efforts among the bishops to discuss with the church a series of issues they believe were contributing to the loss of members. Among them were the role of women in the church, its teachings on sexual morality, priestly celibacy and clerical power structures.

In 2019, they began a series of talks on these topics, discussions of which would be off-limits for the church in many other countries. The talks were to take place among the faithful and church leaders over the course of two years but were extended because of restrictions on gatherings that were introduced last year at the outbreak of the pandemic. They are now to continue into February 2022.

Among those leaving the Church in Germany are many same-sex couples, who are tired of feeling they are not accepted for who they are, said the Rev. Reinhard Kleinewiese, who held a blessing at the Church of St. Mary in the western town of Ahlen on Sunday evening. Ten couples attend, all of them heterosexuals.

“We can’t ignore the fact that a lot of homosexual couples have already left the church. There are many who don’t come anymore,” Father Kleinewiese said. “Nevertheless, it is good and important for this situation and beyond that we make clear that we are not in agreement with Rome on certain issues and prohibitions.”

Gaia Pianigiani contributed reporting from Siena, Italy.

View Source

Filed Under: WORLD Tagged With: Child Abuse and Neglect, Children, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Discrimination, Germany, Homosexuality and Bisexuality, Italy, Masks, Police, Priests, Roman Catholic Church, safety, Statistics, Women

Primary Sidebar

More to See

Distillery owners put Lake Tahoe waterfront estate up for sale

A sprawling waterfront compound on the eastern side of Lake Tahoe has hit the market for $55 million.Known as the Wovoka estate, it is owned by … [Read More...] about Distillery owners put Lake Tahoe waterfront estate up for sale

Refugees Make America Better Off

Vietnamese refugee Tran Di Thuong (R) is welcomed by his brother Tran Truong (C) after arriving at ... [+] San Francisco airport from Hong Kong. Tran … [Read More...] about Refugees Make America Better Off

US reels after massacre in fourth-grade classroom leaves 21 dead

America is absorbing the shock of another bloody mass shooting, a day after an 18-year-old man wearing body armour and carrying assault rifles entered … [Read More...] about US reels after massacre in fourth-grade classroom leaves 21 dead

Copyright © 2022 · Republica Press · Log in · As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy