German Catholic churches to bless same-sex couples

Do you agree with blessing same-sex couples?

  • I'm Catholic or Orthodox and agree

  • I'm Catholic or Orthodox and disagree

  • I attend a mainline denomination and agree

  • I attend a mainline denomination and disagree

  • I attend a Baptist church and agree

  • I attend a Baptist church and disagree

  • I attend a Pentecostal church and agree

  • I attend a Pentecostal church and disagree

  • I don't currently attend a church and agree

  • I don't currently attend a church and disagree


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Andrewn

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Hanging by a Thread

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German Catholic churches to bless same-sex couples | DW | 09.05.2021

What are your thoughts?

Note: I couldn't list all possible denominations. Participants attending Evangelical churches may choose either Baptist or Pentecostal depending on their theology.
Per your attached articles, one of the reasons is that same-sex couples aren't married. The Catholic Church doesn't bless unmarried hetero couples who are sexually active, either. But that doesn't seem to be much of a problem. What exactly do they mean by "bless", anyway. I've been a Catholic all my life and (aside from my being baptised as an infant) I don't ever remember a priest just up an "blessing" me out of the clear blue. Are these same-sex couples asking for some kind of blessing from the Church?
But even if a same-sex couple was married, the Catholic Church still wouldn't approve. The Pope's hands are tied on this one. No win situation. I believe it was the current Pope who is saying to welcome gay people into the Church, which I'm assuming is a change in postion. But that's about as far as he can go. Even if he wanted to start "blessing" same sex couples he couldn't. To do so would make it appear that we're (humans) just making the rules up as we go (relativism?).
I'm a born Catholic but I personally don't have a problem with the idea of same-sex couples. I don't see how anyone can. And I suspect the Pope doesn't have that much of a problem with it, either.
 
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Norbert L

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Norbert L

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What exactly do they mean by "bless", anyway.
Indeed! I vaguely remembered something about blessing animals within a Catholic context when I read these words of yours. A quick search yielded something relevant.

The Blessing of the Animals - What would St. Francis say about how we treat animals today? - Living Faith - Home & Family - News - Catholic Online

I imagine the comparison of "we can bless animals but we can bless gay couples" could enter the discussion. I see it as something along the lines of you can't keep all of the people happy all of the time, only some of the people some of the time.
 
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Andrewn

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hat exactly do they mean by "bless", anyway. I've been a Catholic all my life and (aside from my being baptised as an infant) I don't ever remember a priest just up an "blessing" me out of the clear blue. Are these same-sex couples asking for some kind of blessing from the Church? But even if a same-sex couple was married, the Catholic Church still wouldn't approve.
When couples get married in a Catholic church, the church blesses their relationship. Gay couples cannot get married in a Catholic Church. My understanding is that, after having a civil wedding, some churches are willing to bless their relationship.

This implies that those churches do not consider monogomous homosexual relationships to be sinful.
 
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parousia70

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When couples get married in a Catholic church, the church blesses their relationship. Gay couples cannot get married in a Catholic Church. My understanding is that, after having a civil wedding, some churches are willing to bless their relationship.

This implies that those churches do not consider monogomous homosexual relationships to be sinful.

Well, MOST churches today do not consider it to be sinful for monogamous, heterosexual married couples to practice sinful sexual acts with one another either, which is a relatively recent (past few decades) shift, when taking into account the fact that for most of the past 2000 years, Churches have staunchly, uniformly opposed it.

The times, they've been a-changin'...
 
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public hermit

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I've always wondered what it is about Germany that makes it such a hotbed of heresy.

Perhaps they don't consider it heresy. The Christian tradition in Germany doesn't trace the same path as orthodoxy. The first Christian missionary (of any kind) to the Goths was Ulfilas, an Arian. When Rome was sacked they, as Arian Christians, allowed Catholic churches to function as sanctuaries, apparently they recognized a connection. Still, I think there's a long tradition of Germans giving Rome the side-eye, regardless of the issue at hand. It didn't just start with Luther.

Ulfilas - Wikipedia
 
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Fantine

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I think every love relationship is complex.

And every relationship has areas of dysfunction.

Many religions preach that homosexuality is disordered, and so using that template, the sexual aspect of a gay relationship is dysfunction. Other aspects of the relationship, however, may teach the couple about unconditional love, forgiveness, commitment. It might make the partners more fully human and alive. And because we only experience God's love through the love of the people He's placed in our lives, the partners may grow in their relationship with God.

Heterosexual relationships can have areas of dysfunction, too, such as poor communication, co-dependency, different values, addictions---and yet the partners may also experience many graces through the love they share.

We are all flawed and broken; we are all in need of healing. The German bishops feel compassion for all the dysfunctions they learn of in confession or in counseling--in gay or straight relationships.

My gay friends have imperfect love relationships. So do my husband and I. So does every couple I know. But I also see a lot of beauty and good in all these relationships.

I was married 50 years last June, and we received a special blessing at Mass. How awful it would have been to have had to sign some sort of disclaimer that our relationship was 100% perfect or have had the blessing withheld.

To me the blessing meant that God was walking with us in our spiritual journey, in good and bad times. When you're seventy that sickness and health part grows in importance.

If the Spirit leads some bishops to bless loving but imperfect relationships, I approve. If the Spirit leads some bishops not to, I accept that as well.


`
 
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Andrewn

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"From Munich to Münster, Cologne to Konstanz and Berlin to Buxtehude, more than 100 Catholic congregations in Germany have been offering blessings to same-sex couples in recent days. The Church in Germany does not permit this, while the Vatican forbids it. Priests have been offering the blessings all the same."

"If we bless loving same sex couples today, then we also recognize their relationships," Hose says. "It's a piece of recognition for the realities of life, for diversity, and for the creation and the manner in which people of different sexual orientations live out their relationships. And quite simply, that's the contrast to what officially stands in the catechism."

"But the issue runs deeper. To some powerful people in the Vatican, Germany, the birthplace of reformer-in-chief and father of Protestantism Martin Luther, is still the home of the great reformation-era divider of the faith. The Roman Curia, along with conservative Catholics from Europe and the US in particular, recently said as much of the reform discussions in Germany, accusing the German Catholic Church of apostasy and of dividing the Church. Both charges were curtly rejected by German theologians."

Catholic congregations rejoice at renegade blessing of same sex couples | DW | 11.05.2021
 
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public hermit

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I think every love relationship is complex.

And every relationship has areas of dysfunction.

Many religions preach that homosexuality is disordered, and so using that template, the sexual aspect of a gay relationship is dysfunction. Other aspects of the relationship, however, may teach the couple about unconditional love, forgiveness, commitment. It might make the partners more fully human and alive. And because we only experience God's love through the love of the people He's placed in our lives, the partners may grow in their relationship with God.

Heterosexual relationships can have areas of dysfunction, too, such as poor communication, co-dependency, different values, addictions---and yet the partners may also experience many graces through the love they share.

We are all flawed and broken; we are all in need of healing. The German bishops feel compassion for all the dysfunctions they learn of in confession or in counseling--in gay or straight relationships.

My gay friends have imperfect love relationships. So do my husband and I. So does every couple I know. But I also see a lot of beauty and good in all these relationships.

I was married 50 years last June, and we received a special blessing at Mass. How awful it would have been to have had to sign some sort of disclaimer that our relationship was 100% perfect or have had the blessing withheld.

To me the blessing meant that God was walking with us in our spiritual journey, in good and bad times. When you're seventy that sickness and health part grows in importance.

If the Spirit leads some bishops to bless loving but imperfect relationships, I approve. If the Spirit leads some bishops not to, I accept that as well.


`

This is sensible and gracious, which is appropriate for beings in need of grace, and particularly for those beings that trust in God's grace and steadfast love.

I wish more of us were thoughtful in this way. I get people's visceral reaction to such radical change, which has happened so quickly, but we have to locate and live out the most loving, generous response. I don't know the answer, but your response seems close to the mark.
 
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parousia70

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There will be a falling Away from sound doctrine in the last days.
The Last Days were already well underway during Christ's earthly ministry (Hebrews 1:1-2)

This has nothing to do with any sort of 'Last Days" prophesy, any more than any 1st century falling away like that described in the Book of Jude, had to do with it.
 
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Points To Ponder

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The Last Days were already well underway during Christ's earthly ministry (Hebrews 1:1-2)

This has nothing to do with any sort of 'Last Days" prophesy, any more than any 1st century falling away like that described in the Book of Jude, had to do with it.

Paul made it clear that before the rapture a great Apostasy must occur and the man of lawlessness must be revealed. One can argue that the apostasy is taking place now. Certainly, you do not think that the apostasy Paul is referring to happened in the 1st century before the many awakenings and revivals in our history.
 
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parousia70

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Paul made it clear that before the rapture a great Apostasy must occur and the man of lawlessness must be revealed.

Ok...

One can argue that the apostasy is taking place now.

One could, and many do.
That Doesn't make it Biblically correct however.

Certainly, you do not think that the apostasy Paul is referring to happened in the 1st century before the many awakenings and revivals in our history.

I most certainly do.

Paul testified that the Man of Lawlessness was a living human man who, at the time of his writing, was being actively held back from his imminent takeover of the Jerusalem Temple.

Of course, this Temple takeover was fulfilled shortly thereafter.

Scripture and demands it, History confirms it.
 
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