“Ring fight”

Marriage for all" has cleared hurdles so far. Both the Bundestag and the Bundesrat voted in favor of the project. Theologian Eberhard Schockenhoff nevertheless positioned himself in the debate with a strong argument against the proponents.

Socially, there is by no means a "decoupling of marriage and family," for decades much more than 75 percent of all children live with their married parents, said the Freiburg theologian Eberhard Schockenhoff in a guest article for the Freiburg church newspaper "Konradsblatt".

Catholic understanding of marriage

The "abuse of the concept of marriage," the expert continues, is rather intended to help the "alleged change in social views to break through first".

Schockenhoff emphasizes that the Catholic Church cannot make any substantial concessions to its understanding of marriage without abandoning the biblical instruction of Jesus. Catholic marriage rests on four immovable pillars: freedom, fidelity, indissolubility and fertility in both a social and biological sense.

Separate blessing ceremony and marriage

The theologian expressed concern that new differences between the Catholic and Protestant churches would erupt after the Bundestag decision.

In addition, it will now be more difficult for the Catholic Church to hold blessing ceremonies for homosexual couples: "This hitherto controversial possibility seemed justifiable even to its supporters only on condition that such a blessing ceremony does not encourage any possible confusion with marriage."