Rainbow pastoral care in Austria

Catholic Church in a dilemma

In dealing with homosexual people, the Catholic Church is in a dilemma: while official guidelines reject lived homosexuality as a "sin", the practice in Austria today is quite different. A document for pastoral care for persons with homosexual orientation shows the whole contradiction.

In an interview Pope Francis gave to the AP news agency last week, he once again spoke out about homosexuals. They are not "criminals", but lived homosexuality is a "sin". A few days later, the Pope clarified his statement: According to Catholic moral teaching, every sexual act outside of marriage is a sin, Francis explained. However, such a (Catholic) marriage is not open to homosexuals.

The dilemma becomes apparent when one reads the official "Orientation Guide" for the "Pastoral Care for Persons with Homosexual Inclinations" of the Catholic Church. The text, which was removed from the website of the Austrian Bishops' Conference in the course of religion.ORF.at's research, states: "Homosexual activity does not correspond to God's plan of creation."

"Rainbow pastoral care" in every diocese

In contrast to this, in the Austrian Catholic Church there are crowds of pastors, priests, religious and volunteers and believers who see and also live this completely differently. Every diocese offers a "rainbow pastoral care". Among others, cathedral priest Toni Faber blesses same-sex couples despite a ban from the Vatican.

The basis for the "Orientation Guide", which dates from 2001, is the Catechism and a paper of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 1986. The text states that the Church condemns "every injustice inflicted on homosexual people". However, homosexual people should also "not be led to believe that the act (presumably meaning the exercise, note) of such an inclination in homosexual relationships is a morally acceptable decision".

The Diocese of Linz also took an active part in last year's Linzpride. Motto: "Under God's sky, there is room for everyone."

Bishop for "updating"

And: "The pastor should be aware that a young person can be capable of heterosexual development despite his homosexual feelings." In a statement for religion.ORF.at on Tuesday, the family bishop responsible, Hermann Glettler, wrote that the "orientation guide", "which was drawn up more than twenty years ago for the Church in Austria, needs a fundamental update in several aspects". The document removed on Tuesday is therefore likely to be revised.

However, before an update of the Vatican's view of the family takes place, the positions laid down in it will remain valid. For example, it says: "Men and women who sincerely desire to develop their heterosexual disposition should not be ignorant of the helps that allow them to arrive at their God-given masculinity and femininity."

Bishop Glettler: "In the Church's understanding of marriage, the difference and mutual complementarity of man and woman are of central importance. The Catholic Church therefore adheres to the basic concept of family, in which children are accompanied by a father and a mother in their growing up." However, the Church is "very well aware that in today's society there are other forms of family life which are to be respected and which also need good spiritual and human accompaniment".

Pastoral care takes other paths

Paul Neunhäuserer, the pastoral counsellor for marriage preparation and rainbow pastoral care in the diocese of Linz, assured religion.ORF.at that the practice in Austria's dioceses is completely different from what the "Orientation Guide" suggests: "It is no longer up to date, it wasn't even then. We in the pastoral go completely different ways." Whether someone is homosexual or heterosexual, "it doesn't matter. My image of God is: it's all about the human being." The Diocese of Linz took part in Linzpride 2022, which sees itself as a visible sign of the LGBTIQ+ community.

If there had been official teaching at some point, which was reflected in the guideline, it would be lived differently by the pastoral, Neunhäuserer said. "There are modern scientific findings where you can see: This is no longer tenable." Regarding the guidelines, the pastor says: "I don't know if people still look at them. I hope not."

Pope "dares a lot"

He sees the Pope's statements rather positively: Francis already dares a lot when he says something like recently in the AP interview. "There are still many countries where punishments, including the death penalty, are threatened, and some bishops who do not want to address this.

Neunhäuserer points to the working document for the current World Synod as another positive example of something moving in the Church, which after all includes the term "LGBTQ persons" for the first time.

"One lives in a quandary"

Stefanie Hinterleitner, pastoral counsellor and pastoral assistant for children and youth ministry in a parish in the diocese of Linz, also sees the bishops as having a duty. "Queer lifestyles as a topic are very much there, especially among the young." Reconciling the teachings of the Catholic Church with the reality of the people concerned is not easy: "You live in a quandary," Hinterleitner told religion.ORF.at. A change in the catechism is needed, because "Catholic teaching is something that has to evolve and has always done so".

Rainbow pastoral

The Rainbow Pastoral of the Austrian dioceses with offers for LGBTIQ+ persons.

The attitude represented in it and in the "Orientation Guide" is "firstly, very old and of a great scientific ignorance, there will also have been new findings among the bishops in the meantime, and secondly, very hurtful towards those who are being talked about. For me, this is against human rights." The bishops, as "mouthpieces to the Vatican", must take the reality of people's lives there, she said.

Church "not detached from the people"

"The Church has never existed detached from the people. It is a mutual enrichment." Church has the mission to be wholesome, "inclusive, not exclusive. If you follow the teachings and the work of Jesus, you see: it goes in the direction of love and care." Otherwise, he said, it is to be feared that people will turn their backs on the church.

The cathedral priest of St. Stephen's in Vienna, Toni Faber, tells religion.ORF.at: "I think we have to strike new notes in dealing with people. We are struggling to find a language with which we can accompany them better." This also applies to same-sex lovers, who "in their search for love and fulfilment in relationships" also need orientation.

Cathedral priest: regularly blesses homosexual couples

The word "sin", which the Pope recently used, is "not properly understood in the reality of professional society". Even if the Pope regularly calls himself a "sinner", that is "not helpful at all". In his parish, everyone is "treated quite normally", and he himself gives the blessing to homosexual couples "regularly", Faber stressed. The guide (which has since been removed from the Bishops' Conference website) "cries out for an overhaul".

Bishop Glettler agrees: "Several times I have also spoken out in favour of making it possible for homosexual couples who want to walk a path with the Church and therefore ask for a blessing of their partnership." The blessing of same-sex couples was prohibited by the Vatican by decree in March 2021.

For many years, the Catholic Church in Austria has cultivated "a consciously appreciative approach to LGBTIQ+ persons. In some dioceses, there are special initiatives and working groups to be present as a church with and for this target group," said Glettler. "Beyond that, however, specific pastoral care for homosexual people should be unnecessary, because all church offers, events and services are of course open to everyone."

Source