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The bishop is the latest in a series of German prelates publicly calling for changes in the Church’s stance on homosexuality.
MAINZ, Germany — A German Catholic bishop has publicly defended his support for a book of blessings and rites for homosexual unions.
Bishop Peter Kohlgraf of Mainz also suggested that Catholics with homosexual inclinations cannot all be expected to live chastely and the Church should adopt a pastoral approach that acknowledges this.
“Quite a few people who have homosexual attractions belong to the Church and are truly pious in the best sense of the word,” Bishop Peter Kohlgraf of Mainz wrote in a column for his diocesan newspaper that was also publishedon the diocese’s website, with the headline “Don’t ignore science,” on Feb. 3.
“As to the demand for chastity: what does it mean from the perspective of people who experience same-sex attraction? I think that few of them would consider this demand as tactful and respectful, because — as the Catechism also knows — this inclination is not self-selected.”
Continued below.
German Catholic Bishops Call for Change to Catechism on Homosexuality
MAINZ, Germany — A German Catholic bishop has publicly defended his support for a book of blessings and rites for homosexual unions.
Bishop Peter Kohlgraf of Mainz also suggested that Catholics with homosexual inclinations cannot all be expected to live chastely and the Church should adopt a pastoral approach that acknowledges this.
“Quite a few people who have homosexual attractions belong to the Church and are truly pious in the best sense of the word,” Bishop Peter Kohlgraf of Mainz wrote in a column for his diocesan newspaper that was also publishedon the diocese’s website, with the headline “Don’t ignore science,” on Feb. 3.
“As to the demand for chastity: what does it mean from the perspective of people who experience same-sex attraction? I think that few of them would consider this demand as tactful and respectful, because — as the Catechism also knows — this inclination is not self-selected.”
Continued below.
German Catholic Bishops Call for Change to Catechism on Homosexuality