German Bishop Critiques U.S. President’s Anti-LGBTQ+ Policy

Bishop Ludger Schepers

The bishop who is  the German bishops conference’s liaison to the queer community has spoken out against President Donald Trump, and his administration’s treatment of LGBTQ+ people.

Bishop Ludger Schepers,  auxiliary bishop of Essen was alarmed that “Trump is “removing discrimination protection for queer people and no longer recognizes gender minorities at all,” according to Katholisch.de

“Every attack on the rights of queer people threatens the rights of all people who do not conform to the narrow ideas of how one should look and behave,” said Schepers.

Since being sworn in, Trump has eradicated  the rights on trans people, and has also eliminated many of the government’s DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) programs, which would support all LGBTQ+ people. . On the  first day of his term, Trump  declared that it would be the policy of the federal government to recognize only two genders, male and female.  He also said that federal funding would be withheld from medical facilities that provide gender-affirming care for transgender youth. 

As previously discussed on Bondings 2.0, Schepers was appointed in March of last year. At the time, it was reported:

“The German Bishops’ Conference appointed Bishop Ludger Schepers, auxiliary of Essen, as its first “commissioner for queer pastoral care” during their plenary meeting in late February. Numerous dioceses have such positions to oversee local and regional efforts, but Schepers’ new position is groundbreaking given its national purview.”

The article also noted that Schepers sees parallels between the Catholic church and secular German society in terms of LGBTQ+ rights and the path forward:

“Germany, too, has not been on a tolerant path towards queer people for long. However, the German Church could point out that the Bible does not condemn homosexuality in principle. It should be made clear that traditional values such as responsibility in a partnership and reliability are gender-neutral.”

Last month, Schepers condemned the Catholic church’s overall response to the LGBTQ+ community, saying: ““The fact that parts of the Catholic Church find themselves – once again – in the same boat as the reactionaries is a worrying observation for me,”

Schepers condemnation of Trump’s anti-LGBTQ+ policy is courageous. By defending the rights of the queer community, he follows Catholic social teaching which emphasizes preference for the poor and marginalized, as well as solidarity with those who are oppressed–something all Catholic leaders should be doing. U.S. church leaders should follow his example.   

—Elsie Carson-Holt, New Ways Ministry, March 3, 2025