Cardinal Marx celebrates Queer Mass and says "Sorry"

A service under the sign of the rainbow flag, under the sign of diversity, took place in Munich on Sunday 13 March. A Mass as a commitment to people who see themselves as queer, this time celebrated by Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising. He had this message in his luggage: "Perhaps 20 years ago, perhaps even 15 years ago, I could not have imagined being here now, together with you. And I am also happy about it. (...) You belong. You are welcome. You belong to us. And we have to move this forward together, push it forward together. I stand up for that and would definitely like to achieve it step by step, that we become an inclusive church." Comments after the sermon from Thomas Nahrmann, spokesperson for the Munich Queer Community: "We hope for more acceptance, tolerance, respect for what we do and how we live, not only for us, but for all queer people. That it is just as God-willed and that we are loved like everyone else." And worship participant Wolfgang Scheel says: "For me this is very important, from an ecumenical point of view. I'm a Protestant Christian and I like to take part in the Queer service almost from the beginning and I'm happy that such a prominent representative of the Catholic Church, the head of the diocese, supports this service by coming." In January, 125 church employees had come out as queer under the #OutInChurch, in protest against discrimination in the workplace. The chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, Georg Bätzing, had recently announced a change in the Catholic Church's labour law. Up to now, it can cost an employee his or her job if, for example, they declare a same-sex partnership.

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