Queer-sensitive pastoral work in the Diocese of Mainz

On Sunday, October 9, Bishop Peter Kohlgraf of Mainz officially commissioned pastoral advisor Christine Schardt and Father Mathias Berger with the queer-sensitive pastoral work in the diocese of Mainz. In an evening service in the Church of St. Quintin in downtown Mainz, he presented them with their decrees.

In his sermon, Bishop Peter Kohlgraf first thanked the queer people who had contacted him shortly after his ordination: “I learned a different perspective from them. We are not talking about some abstract 'doctrine of man' when we speak as a church and I speak as a bishop. I talk about specific people and their lives, and hopefully with them first," he said. And further: “With conviction I therefore agreed to the texts of the synodal path, which formulate a reassessment and expect concrete consequences. I wish for a church and a proclamation that perceives people and the reality of their lives and takes their diversity seriously and appreciates it.”

He is sometimes shocked about himself: "I've been in pastoral ministry for 30 years. For me it brings back positive memories. I am shocked that I have not noticed the church experience of others. This is true, for example, of so many in the ministry who have been pushed into a double life by their relationship; this is true of many whose lives have been and are judged only as sin, so many who hide or are talked about behind their backs. For me it is also a piece of failure as a pastor in the service of a God whose image all human beings are. No one is a damage to creation, all are loved, God willed them all that way. Not only through #Outinchurch did we become aware that pastors are also affected and were pushed into a life lie that those responsible did not want to be noticed or were consciously accepted. That has to end.”

“I want to consciously take on responsibility”

With regard to personal responsibility, he said: “Yes, those responsible in the church have become guilty, and I am one of them. And I become very aware of what it means to become guilty not only by doing bad things, but by not doing the necessary good. I want to consciously take responsibility.” Kohlgraf explained that the bishops are working on changing the basic order of church labor law. "The focus on gender identity and orientation and the concrete partnership as almost the only criterion for loyalty to the church is rather shameful and does not create clarity," he said. "It remains a shocking experience for me that the condemnation of queer people mutates into the actual core issue of being Catholic for some in the church." Orientation and a way of life following it about eternal salvation, but lack of love, hypocrisy or insulting others. That's actually not how I want to understand my being Catholic.”

All people 'made by god'

Bishop Kohlgraf thanked pastoral assistent Christine Schardt and Father Berger for their willingness and wished them God's blessing. Kohlgraf: “I would like to thank all people of all kinds if they place their trust in us as a church, if we walk together on the path of faith, if we are allowed to recognize God’s images in everyone. I'm grateful if we go further, questioning, learning and ready to talk." In response to the reading, Christine Schardt emphasized: "The diverse people are wanted by God. They are all 'made by god'." Father Mathias Berger added: "If we exclude them, it must be clear that we are opposing God."

At a subsequent reception in the Erbacher Hof in Mainz, Joachim Schulte from QueerNet Rhineland-Palatinate said: “You, Mr. Bishop, formulated it very specifically, very openly and very clearly: I want to do something. It cannot be credited to you highly enough for having made this point.” It is a signal from the very top that Bishop Kohlgraf perceives and recognizes the facts, including the injuries to people. "And you didn't exempt yourself, you confessed: I'm part of it," emphasized Schulte. That makes him confident and happy that the necessary steps are being taken. Brigitte Oberle from the Catholic Lesbian Network presented Schardt and Berger with two folders in rainbow colors. On the one hand, they stand for God's covenant with humans, and on the other hand as a sign of the queer community fighting for their rights and the rights of all people. Petra Weitzel from the German Society for Trans-Identity and Intersexuality said: "For me it's like the fall of the Berlin Wall today." Kerstin Söderblom, pastor of the Evangelical Student Community, said that in the Evangelical Church there are already regional churches, for example Blessing of same-sex couples, "but there are still many problems in our church," she confessed. That is why it is good to move forward together as churches. Thomas Isser, Chairman of the Kolping Diocesan Association, thanked that the diocese offered a point of reference: "Acceptance is always needed," he emphasized.

Background: Queer-sensitive pastoral care in the diocese of Mainz

Schardt and Berger had already been appointed commissioners for queer-sensitive pastoral care in the Diocese of Mainz on April 1 of this year. The areas of responsibility of the two officers include networking and co-operation with queer and queer-sensitive networks and communities. They viewed the developments within the diocese as a long-awaited step and offered to work with the representatives. The two officers go on to formulate: "In the next few weeks, the work will be aimed at finding pastoral workers who want to and can accompany queer people spiritually and/or liturgically." The officers will be involved in networking, internal advice and further training . The new regional structure can ensure that, in the medium term, support for individuals and advice for teams will be possible in each region.

Christine Schardt comes from Frickhofen in the Westerwald. She has lived in Mainz since studying Catholic theology and is pastoral officer in the Diocese of Mainz. Christine Schardt is married and has two children. She is a university chaplain and lecturer at the universities in Mainz. Ecumenical, interreligious and international, she is involved in various teams and boards. “For me, the crucial question is not: Why should we stand up for queer people in the Catholic Church of all places. But: Why not?” she says. "For G*d did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Tim 1:7)

Mathias Berger comes from Beerfelden in the Odenwald. After studying music and history to become a high school teacher, he studied Catholic theology in Frankfurt and Mainz and was ordained a priest in 2008. After 13 years in the youth ministry of the diocese and as a diocesan youth pastor, he will be parish administrator of the parish of Liebfrauen in Neustadt in Mainz from October 2022, in addition to being commissioned with queer-sensitive pastoral work. "We would like to bring in our previous experiences from youth work and university pastoral care and also expand our learning in favor of a new beginning in our church and in our diocese up to the complete recognition of queer realities of life. We see our work as collaboration in a non-discriminatory church and society that recognizes and accompanies all people in their image in God.”

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