B NDINGS Vol. 39 No. 2 A Publication of New Ways Ministry Spring 2020 German Bishops Affirm Homosexuality as “Normal,” Say Relationships Are “Hot Topic” By Robert Shine er the magisteri- sensus that human Bishop Bode, Görlitz’s Bishop Wolfgang Bondings 2.0 al ban on prac- sexuality encom- Ipolt, and Mainz’s Bishop Peter Kohl- NewWaysMinistry.org/blog ticed homosexu- passes a dimension graf, some of whom serve on other com- December 12, 2019 ality is still of pleasure, repro- mittees for the nation’s episcopal confer- timely has been duction and rela- ence. Several auxiliary bishops also par- At the conclusion of a consultation a hot topic, just tionship. .Two ticipated. they sponsored on human sexuality, Ger- like the question members of the Beginning with a January plenary, many’s bishops issued a statement in of the legitima- German language the Synodal Way process, which is bind- which they affirmed homosexuality as a cy of using arti- group of the Ro- ing, will take up issues under four work- “normal” part of human development, ficial contracep- man Synod of ing groups, according to a German Bish- and they labeled church teaching against tives in mar- Bishops of October ops’ Conference spokesperson, Matthias same-gender sexual activity a “hot top- riage and un- 2015, Archbishop Kopp. In addition to the group on sexual- ic.” married cou- Koch and Bishop ity, the other working groups will be The Commission for Marriage and ples.” [Franz-Josef] “Power, Participation, Separation of Family of the German Bishops’ Confer- This con- Bode, underlined Powers,” “Priestly Existence,” and ence held the consultation, “Human Sex- sultation is part the importance of a “Women in Services and Offices of the uality – how to discuss scientifically- of the German solid discussion Church.” The bishops have admitted that theologically and judge ecclesiastical- church’s Synod- supported by hu- the genesis of this process was the ly?,” in early December and included al Way that manities and theol- “dissatisfaction of many believers,” ac- several outside experts in its delibera- kicked off this ogy and empha- cording to a statement on the Conference tions. In a concluding statement, the Advent, which sized the develop- website. Commission summarized the consulta- includes a work- ments that can al- The Synodal Way could have rami- tion’s discussion of homosexuality: ing group on ready be observed fications not only for the German church, “[T]here was agreement that the sexual morality in Amoris Lae- but for the universal one. While the out- sexual preference of humans is expressed that will include titia.” comes of this two-year process cannot, during puberty and assumes a heterosex- the consulta- Archbishop Heiner Koch Significantly, the and according to Archbishop Koch, ual or homosexual orientation. Both be- tion’s results in its bishops’ statement should not be pre-determined, German long to the normal forms of a sexual pre- deliberations set to begin next February. also suggested that a sexual relationship Catholics could see significant develop- disposition that can not be changed or Berlin’s Archbishop Heiner Koch con- by a Catholic who is divorced and civilly ments. If those participating truly listen changed by any specific socialization. In nected the December sexuality consulta- remarried is “not now qualified as a seri- to and learn from how the sciences un- the Church’s thinking, this means that tion to this wider process, as revealed in ous sin” and therefore there is “no gen- derstand human sexuality and relation- any form of discrimination against ho- the public statement: eral exclusion from the reception of the ships today, they can then incorporate mosexuals must be rejected, as has long “[Koch] emphasized that the synodal Eucharist” for such people. such findings into theological reflection been demanded by the Magisterium, and path should be started without prejudice In addition to outside experts, Nove- and pastoral practice. What could emerge is also explicitly emphasized by Pope and without already fixed positions, but na News reported that a number of bish- is a groundbreaking moment for Catholic Francis in the Post-Synodal letter Amoris by no means without knowledge of the ops participated in the consultation, in- LGBTQ issues. Laetitia. However, the question of wheth- state of the sciences. There was a con- cluding Archbishop Koch, Osnabrück’s German Laity Endorses Blessings for Lesbian and Gay Couples By Robert Shine month urging their bishops to explore a tionships. Franz-Josef Bode and Hamburg's Arch- Bondings 2.0 “Church-mediated blessing of God" for "In the resolution passed Saturday, bishop Stefan Hesse, joined their voices NewWaysMinistry.org/blog same-gender couples to avoid "hard- the ZdK insisted that the current Church to the call for greater pastoral welcome December 16, 2019 ships" and "existential emergencies" for ban on blessing gay couples is outdated, to LGBTQ people. Novena News report- them. Novena News reported: and not worthy of the Catechism’s call to ed that Hesse, an adviser to ZdK, echoed Lay Catholics in Germany formally "That resolution formalised the posi- respect homosexuals 'with respect, com- that call at the group's assembly. It also endorsed church blessings for same- tion of the ZdK since at least 2015, when passion, and sensitivity'. reported that the archbishop "called for a gender couples, while in nearby Switzer- it first backed in principle the idea of "The ZdK also urged priests and deeper theological investigation into how land, bishops have chosen to remain neu- blessings for gay couples. bishops not to focus on the alleged defi- the Church can better accompany gay tral on an upcoming LGB referendum. "In the motion, the ZdK 'encour- ciencies of gay Catholic couples, but couples, so that any future blessing rites The Central Committee of German aged' the German bishops to further in- instead celebrate the love and longing for are properly anchored in the Church’s Catholics (ZdK, the acronym for their vestigate possibilities for ceremonies for God inherent in their desire to have the theology." German name, "Zentralkomitee der gay unions, but also for those other cou- Church recognise their partnership." deutschen Katholiken"), the nation's top ples barred from Church weddings, such Earlier this year, two German lay association, passed a resolution last as divorced Catholics living in new rela- church leaders, Osnabrück's Bishop Spanish Archbishop Proclaims Respect for Same-Sex Families By Mada Jurado form of father, mother and children? cant number of members of our society.” NovenaNews.com Planellas answered that, in the first “The family is and will be the frame- January 8, 2020 place, the modern increase in life expec- work where the human being carries out tancy “has contributed to marriage ceas- his and her first and fundamental experi- A Spanish archbishop has proclaimed ing to be a life-long project in favour of ences, the laboratory where humans live his respect for same-sex families, adding becoming a life project with an unpre- the creative and humanizing possibilities moreover that “the Gospel never con- dictable duration, and to divorce becom- of our species,” Planellas said, certain demns” these relationships. ing very important.” that “the future of the family seems as- “Today the family structure has “In a world where separations and sured.” ceased to be limited to what we under- divorces become more However, given this stood as a nuclear family, composed of frequent every day, fami- ever-changing nature of parents and children, to give way to a ly relationships are sub- the family, the Church diversity of forms that range from living ject to endless processes “The Gospel must remember that its together between men and women with- of family reclassifica- contribution to the fam- out marriage certificates (de facto cou- tion,” Planellas recog- never condemns.” ily can only have sense ples), the single parent family, couples nised. and meaning if it is “a with different homes for husband and Archbishop Joan Planellas “It is also necessary to call to live love and wife or families between people of the underline provisionality, give oneself with all the same sex with legal recognition,” Arch- which has become one of the dominant magnanimity, delicacy and stringency bishop of Tarragona Joan Planellas ing among the causes of that fragility the social values; that contrasts sharply with that implies.” wrote in an article in Spanish paper La “complicated” economic conditions, what happened in other times, in which That on the Church’s part supposes a Vanguardia December 29, reflecting on excessive work demands and the unem- stability was the obligatory reference of “critical” but also a “respectful attitude,” that day’s Feast of the Holy Family. ployment that “demoralises young peo- social systems. Planellas recalled. “Talking about the family currently ple and destabilises homes.” “For many, the family has become a “There is no perfect family realisa- means talking about families, because On top of those practical reasons for ‘transitional phase of life’ or a ‘part-time tion. The Gospel never condemns, but the forms they have acquired are di- the fragility of the family today, Planel- community,’” Planellas acknowledged. assumes, encourages and corrects, in verse, from a social and legal point of las said, “mentalities evolve.” The point of the archbishop’s socio- order to grow in the one Spirit. This is view,” Planellas declared. “There are new relationships in the logical analysis of the family today was how the Gospel saves not only people, “The family is the object of great family, in addition to the new role of to stress the point that “it is not that the but also human groups, and especially hope throughout the world, but today, at women in society,” the prelate observed.