Bishop defends church blessing of a homosexual carnival prince and princess

The Bishop of Aachen, Helmut Dieser, has defended the church blessing of a homosexual carnival prince and princess in his diocese. In response to a question from the "Tagespost", Bishop Helmut Dieser of Aachen explained that it was the personal decision of conscience of the individual pastor to decide on such a blessing ceremony. First of all, he said, he had to distinguish: "Am I being politically paraded? Is a marriage being simulated here?"

"Yes-word" sealed with wedding rings and wedding kiss

On 17 February, Carnival Friday, Cathedral Provost Markus Bruhns in Wassenberg had given the divine blessing to a gay "prince couple" in the Selfkantdom (Church of Saint Gangolf). According to the "Rheinische Post", Bruhns wore a "stole in rainbow colours" and explained in his sermon that the rainbow in the Christian sense symbolises the connection of people with God and is thus in many ways a symbol for the connection and love of two same-sex partners.

The priest on the left in carnival dress.  

He is a delegate to the Synodal Path.

In contrast, this is the nearest he gets to clericals

After the blessing, the couple put on each other's wedding rings and "celebrated their union with a classic wedding kiss". The newspaper reports that the subsequent cheering of the congregation at the end of the blessing service, combined with a standing ovation, bravos and a triple "Alaaf" in thanks to the prince and princess, almost made the church hall shake.

Bishop in conflict with Rome

With his statement, Bishop Dieser finds himself in conflict with Rome. In a clarification issued by the Roman Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on 22 February 2021, it answered the question "Does the Church have the authority to bless unions of persons of the same sex?" with a clear "No". This, it said, was not "unjust discrimination", and did "not exclude blessings being given to individual persons of homosexual inclination who manifest the will to live in fidelity to the revealed plans of God."

However, he said, any form of blessing "which tends to recognise their connections is inadmissible. Indeed, in that case, the blessing would express an intention not to entrust particular individuals to God's protection and help in the above sense, but to endorse and encourage a determination and practice of life which cannot be recognised as objectively ordered towards the revealed purposes of God."

The New Beginnings Initiative noted that a "celebration of blessing for homosexual couples is precisely in line with the demands of an action text of the Synodal Path to be voted on in March, at the last Synodal Assembly." Instead of waiting for the adoption of the papers, one is now already creating facts.

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