Prepared for protests

adminonDecember 16, 2021January 5, 2022Leave a Comment

In view of the planned protests against the Pope's visit, the German Bishops' Conference urges church opponents to show consideration. "Protests cannot be rejected, but we expect fair treatment," Bishops' Conference spokesman Matthias Kopp said Friday, adding, "Fair means treating the church and the pope with respect and not disturbing the celebration of the faithful."

Overall, however, the church sees the planned demonstrations calmly, according to Kopp: "70.000 worshippers in Berlin's Olympic Stadium are a clear expression of what we want: to show faith. We will not be unsettled by protests in Berlin."—-Pope Benedict XVI. comes from the 22. to 25. September for the first time on an official state visit to Germany. Alliances critical of the Vatican have called for protests at the central stops of the visit in Berlin, Erfurt and Freiburg. —-"Fun as hell instead of scary as hell" — The largest demonstration is expected in Berlin, where the network "The Pope is coming" for 22. September plans rally against "the Pope's anti-human gender and sexual politics". The network unites according to own data 40 groupings, organizations and associations, among them the lesbian and gay federation Berlin Brandenburg (LSVD), pro familia, the German AIDS assistance, the humanistic federation as well as sections of SPD and Greens. —-In Erfurt's city center, a demonstration is planned for 23. September a demonstration under the slogan "Heidenspab statt Hollenangst" is announced. "The chairman of a deeply reactionary association is to be publicly celebrated here," one of the organizers justified the rally when asked by dapd. A "religion-free zone" is to be set up to coincide with the church service in Cathedral Square the following day. The Erfurt alliance is supported by homosexual associations, university groups, a queer feminist group as well as comrades-in-arms from the left spectrum.—-The initiative "Freiburg without a pope" wants to demonstrate on 24. and 25. September citizens with events to inform about their criticism of the Vatican. "We want to point out that there is a lot of intolerance, hostility to democracy and also hostility to humanity," the spokesman for the alliance, Albrecht Ziervogel, told dapd. The initiative accuses the church of a failed contraception policy and discrimination against women and homosexuals.

The pope and gay priests

A priest holds a host © Corinne Simon (KNA)

Pope Francis has again touched on the subject of homosexuality. In interview, he expresses tolerance for clergy who have same-sex feelings but live chastely. But his exact profile on the ie remains unclear.

In the interview book "The Power of Vocation," published Monday, he comments on how to deal with candidates for priesthood and religious orders who are attracted to the same sex. Practically in the aftermath, he says homosexual clergy must be urged to "live celibacy fully" and deal with their sexuality "in a fully responsible way".

The papal concession alone that gay priests and lesbian nuns are just as welcome as heterosexual ones would be a relief for those consecrated who still think they have to hide their difference – and a red rag for conservatives in the Catholic Church.

Difference between person and deed

Francis has always distinguished between person and deed. When, shortly after his election in July 2013, he declared that he could not break the baton over a person who sought God and was of good will simply because he was homosexual, liberal commentators celebrated this as a major turnaround. The "Who am I to condemn him" became the signal word of a new openness.

In doing so, the pope remained completely grounded in official teaching. Catholic catechism exhorts to treat homosexual men and women "with respect, compassion and tact" and in no way "to set them back unfairly in any way". Homosexuality per se, on the other hand, the Fundamental Book of Faith calls a "propensity that is objectively disordered".

In dealing with gays, Francis shows no fear of contact. In April, he hosted Chilean Juan Carlos Cruz, who was abused by a priest as a teenager, at his residence for a week. Cruz explained afterwards that he had felt taken seriously and accepted by the pope even with his homosexuality.

Line crossed

To be sure, a line is crossed for Francis when clergy who are under vows of celibacy live a same-sex relationship. So it came to a scandal when the priest Krzysztof Charamsa, employee of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, announced his life partner to the media public in 2015.

Later, the Vatican inadvertently used a picture of Charamsa in a priest's collar with his boyfriend as a campaign photo for a pastoral ministry that is more attuned to people; the laughs were delighted, but Charamsa had to go.

It is not entirely clear, on the other hand, to what extent simply being gay is compatible with spiritual status from the pope's point of view. A 2005 document from the Congregation for Education excludes from seminaries those with "deep-seated homosexual tendencies" because they are prevented from "establishing correct relationships with men and women".

In the interview volume by Spanish theologian Fernando Prado, Francis also emphasizes that, according to church directives, persons "with this deep-seated tendency" should not be admitted to the priesthood or religious vows. "The ordained ministry or consecrated life is not their place," pope says categorically.

The ie is also sensitive within the church because certain circles link it to sexual abuse.

Homosexuality in vogue

Misconceived looseness has led to a general softening of morals, is the criticism. Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano accused the pope of promoting a "confusion and division" in the church, and even a "plague of homosexuality" with a lack of moral rigor. The bishops at the last synod saw the ie as so controversial that they themselves widely erased the term "homosexual orientation" from the draft final document.

In the new interview, Francis now seems to recognize such homosexual clergy who have this orientation but do not live it: "The homosexual priests, religious men and women would have to be urged to live celibacy fully and, above all, to be fully responsible." Never should they be allowed to cause scandal by "leading a double life".

What the pope says. But also, "We have to be strict. In our societies homosexuality seems to be almost a fashion, and this thinking influences in a certain way also the life of the church." Where his course goes remains open.

Looking to fulda

German bishops © Uwe Zucchi

This week, the bishops are meeting in Fulda for their autumn plenary session. They have been discussing reforms in the church and how to continue to deal with the abuse scandal.

All reports, videos and pictures can be found here.

The meeting is expected with particular excitement, after there had been admonitions from the Vatican in advance not to go German special ways. The president of the Bishops' Conference, Reinhard Cardinal Marx, had spoken with Pope Francis, among others, in recent days to dispel irritations following the objections from Rome.

Several protests announced

Even among the bishops, there are differing catches on how widely contentious ies such as sexual morality, celibacy and the role of women in the church should be discussed.

Climate protection and refugees are also topics

The four-day meeting will also focus on developments following the recent state elections, the climate debate and the commitment to refugees. Sixty-nine members of the Bishops' Conference, led by Cardinal Marx, took part in the consultations.

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