German Bishops’ Release Pastoral Guidelines for Imparting Blessings to Homosexual Couples

It’s as if they were just waiting for the perfect moment—the moment when the last obstacle to their plan would be removed, and no one could stop them. The German original may be found here. -PAK

 
“The Church wishes to proclaim in word and deed the message of the God-given dignity of every person. This message guides her in her dealings with people and their partnerships. That is why it recognizes and offers support to couples who are united in love, who treat each other with full respect and dignity and who are prepared to live their sexuality in mindfulness for themselves, for each other and in social responsibility in the long term. There are couples who ask for a blessing for their partnership. This request based on gratitude for the love they have experienced and the hope for a future accompanied by God.”[i] Based on this concern, the Synodal Assembly of the Synodal Path of the German Bishops’ Conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) has recommended that couples who do not wish to enter into a chrch sacramental marriage or who are not eligible for one should be allowed to have blessing ceremonies.

The Catholic Church in Germany has been dealing with the issue of blessings for couples for some time. Couples who are not married in church, divorced and remarried couples as well as couples of all sexual orientations and gender identities are naturally part of our society. Quite a few of these couples would like a blessing for their relationship.[ii] Such a request is an expression of gratitude for their love and an expression of the desire to shape this love out of faith. Until now, there has been no general guidance on how pastors can respond to this request in an appropriate manner.
 
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