Dissension in the Church: Swiss Catholic women disagree with the bishops and support same sex marriage

There is disagreement in the various churches in Switzerland on same-sex marriage.

The Swiss Catholic Women's Federation, which represents about 130,000 women, welcomes marriage for all, explicitly including sperm donation for lesbian couples. 

Joseph Bonnemain is considered a beacon of hope for the so-called progressive faithful in the diocese of Chur. For the time being, Vitus Huonder's successor - unsurprisingly - is not sending out any socio-political revolutionary signals. He rejects marriage for all, which will be voted on by the people on September 26. He is not doing so out of a conservative stance, he said, but because he finds that on the biblical basis, the term marriage denotes a particular type of partnership.

"It is a lifelong, faithful partnership between a man and a woman, open to life," Bonnemain said in an interview with the NZZ. He argues with diplomatic words on the line of Catholic teaching. According to the Catechism, in fact, "homosexual acts are not to be approved in any case." There it says concretely that the Holy Scripture describes homosexuality as a "terrible aberration".

Concerns about the welfare of the child are paramount

Not only civil but also ecclesiastical marriage for homosexuals? Joseph Bonnemain rejects both.

The Swiss Bishops' Conference does not use such vocabulary. In its position statement, it primarily puts forward ethical arguments. No one has a right to have children; rather, there are the rights of the child. The Bishops' Conference is generally against the use of reproductive medicine, even for heterosexual couples.

With regard to the possibility of sperm donation for lesbian couples, the Bishops are concerned about the right of children to know their biological origin. However: the bill, on which the parliament will decide, preserves the child's right to know his or her parentage.

Catholic Women's Federation sees it differently from the bishops

Admittedly, the Catholic base sometimes ticks differently than the head bishops. The Swiss Catholic Women's Federation, which represents about 130,000 women, welcomes marriage for all, explicitly also sperm donation for lesbian couples and the opening of adoption for same-sex couples.

There is also a different understanding of marriage than that of the Catholic Church, the Catholic Women's Federation says: "The understanding of marriage as an expression of responsible love between two adults, regardless of gender." And, "Homosexuality is part of divine creation."

With their "Njet" to the opening of the institution of marriage, once described by the German social philosopher Max Horkheimer as the "nucleus of fascism," the bishops are no exception among religious communities. The Swiss Evangelical Alliance, where about a quarter of the members are Reformed church congregations and the rest free churches, warns that marriage for all could pave the way for surrogacy. And the alliance fears negative consequences if a child grows up without either a mother or a father.

The umbrella organization of rainbow families counters with study results. These showed that children with same-sex parents developed just as well as those from conventional families. The decisive factor is the quality of the relationship and not the gender or sexual orientation of the parents.

Islamic umbrella organization: Marriage is a free choice

Farhad Afshar, president of the Coordination of Islamic Organizations in Switzerland (Kios), emphasizes that the Kios is politically neutral and very reserved on political issues. The Kios is therefore unlikely to expose itself in the referendum campaign.

In terms of content, it rejects the proposal, as can be seen from a statement by Afshar: "The views of Islam on marriage for all correspond to the theological ideas of the Catholic Church and Judaism. Marriage is an institution to preserve the family and has a high value in society."

From a theological point of view, the Federation of Islamic Umbrella Organizations of Switzerland (Fids) agrees with the bishops and the Swiss Evangelical Alliance. "But this theological view is only part of the reality," says spokesman Önder Güneş.

"When two people of the same sex decide to marry, they are probably already living together and have checked off the theological view, so to speak." It is their free and own decision whether they want to make this togetherness legal.

The Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG) does not commit itself to a clear position. According to Jewish teachings, a marriage can only be concluded between two persons of different sexes, it wrote in the consultation. Any other practice would be in contradiction to this way of thinking. However, the SIG accepts marriage for all as an expression of personal freedom in a secular value system.

Church weddings for homosexual couples

The advocates of marriage for all are therefore not confronted with a uniform religious rejection front. The Protestant Reformed Church already clearly backed the bill in November 2019. For them, the divine promise of life in community applies to all creatures without exception, regardless of sexual orientation. In addition to a yes to civil marriage for all same-sex couples, it also recommends church marriage.

The Christian Catholics, with about 13,000 members, seek the creation of a single sacrament that would apply to the marriage of heterosexual and homosexual couples. On the civil level, the Christian Catholics advocate same-sex marriage.

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