Cardinal admits he did not take the abuse scandal sufficiently seriously and then says he would bless a homosexual couple.

“If people ask me for a blessing, then I will do that,” emphasized Munich Cardinal Reinhard Marx in an interview. In it he also spoke about abuse, the world synod, church taxes and his own dying hour.

Munich Cardinal Reinhard Marx would have no problem blessing a homosexual couple. "Why not? It always depends on the situation at hand. If people ask me for a blessing, then I will do that too," Marx told the "Münchner Merkur" (Tuesday). The Synodal Way, the reform project of the Catholic Church in Germany, consciously spoke of a “blessing for people who love each other”. “We don’t want to focus exclusively on one group.”

The Archbishop of Munich and Freising explained that there are couples who, from a church perspective, cannot receive the sacrament of marriage. "But it can't be the case that they are excluded from pastoral care because of this!" A handout should be developed at the level of the bishops' conference. But the pastors don't have to wait for that: "If people who love each other ask for a blessing, the pastors will find a way to deal with it well and do it."

"It was clear to me that we would have to work on this for a long, long time"

In the interview, Marx also regretted that he initially did not take the issue of abuse in the Catholic Church seriously enough. "When this became known in the USA more than 20 years ago, we thought: It's not like that here," he said. It was a shock for him that the ideal image of the church that he had as a young priest was confronted with a dark side. "But I have to live with it, and we have to do better."

The abuse scandal in the Catholic Church in Germany was a turning point, the cardinal explained. "It was clear to me that we would have to work on this for a long, long time." Despite all the terrible things, one must also see that a lot has been done in processing and prevention. Since the publication of the second report commissioned for the archdiocese, efforts have been made to help those affected.

With a view to the World Synod beginning in October, Marx said that he hoped that all the wishes of one side and all the fears of the other would not come true overnight.

However, according to Marx, what he misses in public is that what has been achieved over the past 13 years is sometimes not seen: "No other institution tackles the issue as thoroughly as we do - not even the state!" His time as archbishop was marked by this. "Hopefully in 50 and 100 years people will say: They did something, they didn't let it slide. And we're working on that," said the cardinal.

The increasing number of people leaving the church depresses him greatly, explained Marx. In the meantime, however, some people also noticed what would happen if the presence of the churches became marginal. Not enough people are aware that church tax makes a major contribution to the common good. "Let's just take the beautiful churches with us: These baroque churches are a celebration! Without church tax we couldn't keep it at this level!" The church tax payers were also not sufficiently valued, said Marx: "They pay twice: through their taxes to the state and through their church tax. I would like to say a big thank you to the church tax payers for that!"

“I always want to create something”

In his own words, Marx is not disappointed that he will not be at the World Synod that begins in October. He has already taken part in so many synods. "Now others can contribute their voice. But: I always want to create something." The synod is just the beginning. Things will then continue in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising and in the German Bishops' Conference.

Pope Francis spoke of a “synodal church” for the first time in 2015, the cardinal recalled. This is now becoming more concrete step by step. The church does not have to be structured in a “monarchical” way; its external shape can change. The substance – the Gospel and the celebration of the sacraments – remains. This doesn't happen without pain because the old is strong and the new has to assert itself first. This can only be achieved by working together.

Marx added that he hopes that all the wishes of one side and all the fears of the other will not come true overnight. He is counting on a joint process to develop in which the transformation progresses little by little. But that is very difficult in a global church.

Cathcon: You will be lucky when modernists like you created this mess in the first place. 

“I think about death often. That doesn't scare me. But the question of how one dies, whether one has to suffer, whether one becomes demented, is what concerns me.” — Quote: Cardinal Reinhard Marx

In view of his 70th birthday on Thursday, Marx confessed that if he had three wishes, he would wish for a happy dying hour. "I often think about death. That doesn't scare me. But the question of how you die, whether you have to suffer, whether you will become demented, that concerns me," he said in the interview. He prays that the Lord God will have mercy and give him a good hour of death, "so that I can go in a good way."

Before that, however, he would like to remain mentally and physically fit in his office and that his feelings of melancholy and resignation do not prevail, said the cardinal: "That is a grace and I have to ask for it again and again." As you get older, you have the impression that things are moving faster and faster. It's about making good use of what time is left. Even though he has now handed over some tasks, he is not withdrawing, emphasized the Archbishop of Munich and Freising. "I wouldn't say I work less either." Maybe with a little more peace. But at 70 he couldn't run around like he did at 40.

“I couldn’t live without Holy Mass”

When asked whether he would become a priest again today, Marx replied that he thought so. "That fills my life. I couldn't live without Holy Mass." 44 years ago he went into service with great enthusiasm and incredible joy. He experienced a lot of beautiful things and had incredibly powerful experiences and encounters. But there is also the other thing. "I didn't think it would be so hard."

The Cardinal confessed that he had lost his certainty in the sense of an ideal idea of the church. He used to think that the dark side of the church was history. "That was naive!" Nevertheless, his faith did not weaken, but rather intensified to what was essential: to see anew what was driving this Jesus of Nazareth. According to Marx, there will be a major transformation in the external shape of the church, but the message will continue. "Now we - including me at 70 - have to pave the way for this. We have to make decisions and free ourselves from some things, for example when it comes to real estate or structures."

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