The never-ending dispute over the German Catholic Church and the blessings of same-sex couples?

Article by Ludwig Ring-Eifel (KNA), published on katholisch.de (Germany) on 19 october 2025. Freely translated by the gionata Project Volunteers.

The discussion on the German line for the blessings of homosexual couples, also relaunched by Pope Leo's interview, has picked up speed. German bishop Georg Bätzing spoke of "coordination" with Rome; but, specifies the prefect of the Doctrine of the Faith, there has never been Vatican approval on the blessings of homosexual couples. And now?

At the beginning of August katholisch.de published the results of a [survey among 27 German dioceses] on how the pastoral guidance released on 4 April 2025 is applied, entitled “Segen gibt der Liebe Kraft – Segnungen für Paare, die sich lieben” (“The blessing gives strength to love – Blessings for couples who love each other”).

It is a text without binding legal value which, in a sort of "dress rehearsal" for future acts of blessing for couples, was approved by the joint conference of the German Bishops' Conference (Deutsche Bischofskonferenz, DBK) and by the lay forum ZdK.

This guide contains elements that go beyond what the Vatican had allowed a few months earlier with "Fiducia supplicans": the informal blessing of people living in homosexual relationships or other situations defined as "irregular".

Rome had clarified that these blessings had to be spontaneous and not included in a solemn liturgy, to avoid any possible confusion with the sacrament of marriage, which according to Catholic doctrine concerns only the union between man and woman.

Very different applications

The german guide it does indeed recall the risk of confusion, but it also invites good "synergy with those who preside, through acclamations, prayers and songs" and careful preparation, so that "the way of presiding, the place and the overall aesthetics, including music, express esteem for the people asking for the blessing, their relationship and their faith".

These indications do not coincide with the "spontaneous" blessing outlined by Rome. For this reason, four Bavarian dioceses and the Archdiocese of Cologne have refused to implement the guide.

Others, such as the archbishoprics of Bamberg and Freiburg, remain wait-and-see; still others moved forward decisively, publishing the text in the official bulletin - a choice which makes it binding in the diocese. This is the case, among the former, of Limburg, Trier and Osnabrück, and now also of Aachen.

The investigation concluded thus: "From the Vatican, so far, no reaction to the German guide, despite the differences with Fiducia supplicans, which does not want blessings in a liturgical framework, while the guide (...) goes in the opposite direction. Whether it is the result of good preventive diplomacy or of the reorganization phase following the change of pontificate, it is too early to say."

A few weeks earlier, however, in an interview not yet published, the Pope had already expressed concern about the fact that "in Northern Europe" there existed "rituals for the blessing of people who love each other", in contrast with "Fiducia supplicans": the document, explained Pope Leo

The Pope's discomfort reached the media shortly before the autumn assembly of the German Bishops' Conference in Fulda, forcing president Georg Bätzing to explain the alleged short circuit: according to him, the April guide would have been drawn up "in coordination" with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and would not represent an act of episcopal disobedience, as some Italian Vatican experts had claimed.

How much “coordination” was there really?

That confrontation between Germany and Rome - however you want to describe It - occurred almost at the turn of the transition between the Pontificate Of pope francis and That Of Pope leo xIV: the argentine pontiff was already seriously ill and would have died shortly Thereafter. the roman contact, however, remained the same: the prefect Víctor Manuel Fernández.

Some journalists, primarily Benjamin Leven of the magazine "communio" (Herder), asked for clarification from within the Dicastery. Anonymous sources denied that the German guide had been "approved" by the Vatican, but admitted correspondence and some wording corrections requested in Berlin.

This ping-pong about how much and how Rome had "endorsed" a guide that was considered broad put Cardinal Fernández under pressure. After the change of pontificate, there has been no shortage of critical articles in Italy: his "sponsor" is no longer there, and some decisions taken by the prefect would have created more tension than unity, the opposite of Pope Leo XIV's priority objective: recomposing communion in the Catholic church.

Precisely here the German dossier exploded at the worst moment for Fernández: the risk was that the practice on blessings would diverge between "Northern Europe" (read Germany) and the rest of the world. The internal mosaic in Germany - from the "yes" of Limburg to the "no" of Augsburg - clearly demonstrated the potential for conflict.

Così, con una mossa inconsueta, Fernández ha scelto di prendere pubblicamente le distanze dalla guida. Al portale statunitense The Pillar ha dichiarato l’8 ottobre: “Il Dicastero per la Dottrina della Fede non ha approvato nulla. Tempo fa, con una lettera, ha ricordato che ‘Fiducia supplicans’ esclude ogni forma di celebrazione rituale”.

E adesso?

Dopo questa precisazione, il futuro del dossier interessa non solo i canonisti. La tensione di contenuto tra “Fiducia supplicans” e la guida tedesca, di per sé non vincolante, avrebbe potuto anche restare a lungo senza un’esplosione. La chiesa cattolica è abbastanza grande ed esperta da tollerare, talvolta, un certo margine di differenza.

Diverso è il quadro dove i vescovi hanno dato alla guida forza di diritto pubblicandola sul bollettino ufficiale diocesano. Qui il Vaticano dispone di un “grimaldello” per intervenire sul piano canonico. Il fatto che, finora, solo pochi ordinari abbiano compiuto questo passo lascia pensare che gli altri siano ben consapevoli del rischio.

*Ludwig Ring-Eifel* è giornalista dell’agenzia cattolica tedesca KNA (Katholische Nachrichten-Agentur), specializzato in informazione ecclesiale e vaticana.*

Testo originale: “Streit um Segnung homosexueller Paare – und kein Ende?”