Archdiocese of Cologne stands up to the German Bishops' Conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics on the matter of homosexual blessings

Guidelines of the Universal Church are being followed. Blessing handout will not be applied in the Archdiocese of Cologne.

Blessings for couples who cannot marry – the German Bishops' Conference and the ZdK have drafted a handout for this purpose. Some Dioceses are already implementing them. Not so in Cologne: There, contradictions with the line of the Universal Church are seen.

The Archdiocese of Cologne will not apply the handout on "Blessings for Couples Who Love Each Other." The Archdiocese stated in response to a request from katholisch.de that it is acting in accordance with the universal church's regulations. The declaration "Fiducia supplicans" of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith states everything essential regarding the administration of blessings to couples who cannot enter into a sacramental marriage.

Subsequently, the Dicastery explicitly pointed out that the blessings addressed in the declaration should be "spontaneous and brief," meaning they should not have a liturgical form. "In our opinion, the guidance here goes beyond the universal Church regulations," the archdiocese continued. However, it remains an important challenge for the Archdiocese of Cologne, "specifically also for all pastors and all baptized people, to find good ways, within the framework of the universal Church regulations, to extend God's closeness and companionship to people."

The non-application of the guidance was announced in a communication from the "Rainbow Church for All" working group of the St. Lambertus parish in Mettmann. The working group expressed its incomprehension at the decision: "We desire a church in which no one is excluded or otherwise discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, divorce, or remarriage, but rather everyone is accepted with respect and equality."

Several bishops have officially published the handbook and recommended it for pastoral care in their dioceses. In Limburg, Bishop Georg Bätzing "encouraged" pastoral workers to make use of the possibilities this handbook offers for organizing blessing ceremonies for couples. Official recommendations for its use have also been issued in Osnabrück and Rottenburg-Stuttgart.

Fruit of the Synodal Path

At the beginning of April, the Joint Conference of the German Bishops' Conference (DBK) and the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) adopted a handbook for pastoral workers that provides a framework for blessings. The blessings are intended as an offer for "divorced and remarried people, couples of all gender identities and sexual orientations, as well as couples who, for other reasons, do not want or cannot receive the sacrament of marriage." The committee cannot make decisions binding on the Church in Germany or the dioceses. The manual itself therefore merely refers to "practical guidelines."

The blessing paper originates from a mandate from the Synodal Path. After the Vatican relaxed the ban on blessings of homosexual relationships with "Fiducia supplicans" in December 2023, these changes were also incorporated. The suggestions summarized in the paper are intended as an offer for "divorced and remarried people, couples of all gender identities and sexual orientations, as well as couples who, for other reasons, do not want or cannot receive the sacrament of marriage." The guideline follows the "pastoral approach of the pontificate of Pope Francis," it was stated at the presentation.

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