German Priests Plan to Defy the Catholic Church and Bless Same-Sex Unions

Here’s the kind of infighting I could get behind: Progressive German Catholic priests are defying the Vatican and blessing same-sex marriages anyway.

As recently as March, the Catholic Church reminded the world of its position that God “does not and cannot bless sin.”

But these German priests don’t buy into that bigotry:

In Berlin, the Rev. Jan Korditschke, a Jesuit who works for the diocese preparing adults for baptism and helps out at the St. Canisius congregation, will lead blessings for queer couples at a worship service May 16.

“I am convinced that homosexual orientation is not bad, nor is homosexual love a sin,” Korditschke told The Associated Press in an interview Friday. “I want to celebrate the love of homosexuals with these blessings because the love of homosexuals is something good.”

Could the priests face repercussions for defying the Vatican? Yes.

Do they care? Nope.

“We’re struggling in Germany with a lot of seriousness and intensive theological discourses for the right path,” [spokesperson for the Central Committee of German Catholics, or ZdK, Birgit] Mock added. “Things cannot continue the way they did — this is what the crimes and cover-ups of sexual abuse showed us.”

“We need systemic changes, also regarding a reassessment of the ecclesiastical morality of sexuality,” Mock said.

There are at least 100 churches scheduled to participate in the upcoming same-sex blessings. While the acts won’t have any official legitimacy within the Church, does it even matter? This is about symbolism. It’s a reminder that the Church may perpetuate hate, but not everyone belonging to the Church agrees.

(Image via Shutterstock)