Vatican City
Reuters
A prominent liberal cardinal who leads a body representing European bishops has called for “fundamental revision” in Catholic teaching on homosexuality, and said it is wrong to fire Church workers for being gay.
The remarks by Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich to the German Catholic news agency KNA were among the most direct calls ever by a Roman Catholic leader for change in teaching on one of the most controversial issues in the church today.
Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, Archbishop of Luxembourg, (in mask) greets Pope Francis at the opening of the Synodal Path at the Vatican, on 9th October. PICTURE: Vatican Media/Handout via Reuters.
GERMAN ARCHBISHOP BACKS LOOSENING CATHOLIC CELIBACY RULES
A prominent German archbishop advocated loosening celibacy rules for Catholic priests in comments published Thursday before a meeting of a German reform assembly.
Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the Archbishop of Munich, told the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung that “it would be better for everyone to create the possibility of celibate and married priests”. His comments come as his diocese has been shaken by an independent report on the church’s handling of sexual abuse cases over decades, which faulted Marx and predecessors including retired Pope Benedict XVI.
Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising, comments in a press conference on the expert report on sexual violence against children and young people in the Catholic Archdiocese of Munich and Freising in Munich, Germany, Thursday, on 27th January. PICTURE: Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP.
Marx, a prominent reformist ally of Pope Francis, said last week that the church needs deep reform to overcome the “disaster” of sexual abuse.
“For some priests, it would be better if they were married – not just for sexual reasons, but because it would be better for their life and they wouldn’t be lonely,” he said in the newspaper interview. “We must hold this discussion.”
He insisted that celibacy won’t be scrapped altogether, but said he sees a “question mark” over “whether it should be taken as a basic precondition for every priest.”
In 2019, Marx expressed support for a call by bishops in the Amazon region for the ordination of married men as priests to address a clergy shortage there, but stopped short of calling for a global recognition of married priests.
On Thursday, the latest session of a German reform process that was launched in response to the abuse crisis is due to open. The “Synodal Path,” which brings together Catholic church and lay representatives, has sparked fierce resistance inside the church, primarily from conservatives opposed to opening any debate on issues such as priestly celibacy, women’s role in the church and homosexuality.
– Berlin, Germany, AP
Hollerich is president of the pan-European grouping of Catholic bishops’ conferences, known as COMECE.
In the KNA interview, Hollerich was asked for his assessment of a campaign in which about 125 Catholic Church employees in Germany, including some priests, came out as LGBTQ, and about the Church’s teachings on homosexuality.
“I believe that the sociological-scientific foundation of this teaching is no longer true,” he said in interview that was published on Tuesday in Germany.
In another part Hollerich said: “I think it’s time we make a fundamental revision of the doctrine”.
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that same-sex attraction is not a sin, but homosexual acts are.
Hollerich, who did not elaborate on what aspects of the teaching he felt needed revision, said: “I also believe that we are thinking ahead in terms of doctrine. The way the pope has expressed himself in the past can lead to a change in doctrine.”
Homosexuality is one of the most controversial issues in the 1.3 billion-member church, with conservatives accusing Pope Francis of giving mixed signals and confusing the faithful.
Francis has said that while the church cannot accept same-sex marriage, it can support civil union laws aimed at giving gay partners joint rights in areas of pensions, health care and inheritance.
He has sent notes of appreciation to priests and nuns who minister to gay Catholics and said parents of gay children should never condemn them, but under his watch the Vatican has also said priests cannot not bless same-sex couples.
In December, a Vatican department raised conservative ire when it apologised for “causing pain to the entire LGBTQ community” by removing from its website a link to resource material from a Catholic gay rights advocacy group in preparation for a Vatican meeting in 2023. It was later reposted.
In his interview with KNA, Hollerich also said gay church employees should not lose their jobs, something which has happened in some countries, particularly the United States.
“They know they have a home in the church. With us [the Luxembourg archdiocese] no-one is dismissed because they are homosexual,” he told KNA.
