German Church Leaders Offer Differing Views on Pope Leo’s LGBTQ+ Remarks

Positive and negative reactions to Pope Leo XIV’s widely-publicized interview with U.S. journalist Elise Anne Allen are beginning to surface in Germany, reports Katholische.de. 

In his comments on LGBTQ+ issues which Bondings 2.0 covered yesterday, Leo expressed disapproval at some of the German church’s efforts for blessing people in same-gender relationships, which he described as having surpassed the parameters of Pope Francis’ 2023 declaration Fiducia Supplicans. Additionally, Leo said that Church teaching on sexuality and gender would not change anytime soon. 

German church reform groups, many of them having been active participants in the German synodal process which generated many of pro-LGBTQ+ initiatives, quickly criticized the pope’s comments. 

 “For a Church Without Fear”

One prominent German LGBTQ+ Catholic group, Out in Church, told Catholic News Agency in Germany (KNA) that “unless Catholic sexual teaching changes, non-heterosexual people or people who do not conform to the binary gender model are not welcome in this church.” 

The group added that they and other LGBtQ+ advocates will continue to urge change, as LGBTQ+ acceptance in the Catholic Church “is about nothing less than the observance and implementation of human rights.”

The German branch of We Are Church, an international church reform group which has LGBTQ+ equality as one of its primary issues,  called the pope’s position “extremely disappointing,” before adding that it “does not correspond to the reality of life.”

Elsewhere, a prominent Catholic theologian characterized Leo’s remakes as a reluctance to “uncritically affix a theological seal of approval to the re-coding of gender relations in late-modern Western societies.” Writing in the journal Communio, which he edits, dogmatic theologian Jan-Heiner Tück predicted a poor reaction from German Catholics to Leo’s first in-depth treatment of LGBTQ+ issues.

“Keeping the Church open to all without embracing the imperatives of diversity is likely to be a squaring of the circle for many in this country,” Tück said. 

Other German leaders were more positive about Leo’s remarks. The first member of the German episcopate to address Leo’s comments was Bishop Stefan Oster of Passau who had a favorable response to Leo’s remarks.  Oster said he views Leo’s stance as in continuity with Francis,’ and said that “without exception, every person is a beloved child of God.” The bishop added that the Catholic church has the “task to make this message clear in our dealings with every person.”

Thomas Söding

Thomas Söding, Vice President of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), an official church body of the laity, predicted “There will be reforms under Leo XIV,” but added that new reforms “will be less disruptive than under Francis,” cautioning that it doesn’t mean these reforms will be worse.

Söding sees Leo operating with “a great deal of caution,” and that the new pope will have to develop courage and confidence.  He observed that the pope was trying to be more positive than negative in his statements: “for traditional families, not against alternative lifestyles; for a new relationship between hierarchy and the grassroots, less criticism of capitalism; more advocacy for a social and sustainable economy.”

He added that he sees the pope striving for unity, but Leo should not allow unity to stall change:

 “For starters, he’s sending the message that he wants to keep the Catholic Church united. That’s traditionally the Pope’s task. But he must not lose the forces of reform and must galvanize [meaning “shock” or “startle] those who insist on outdated beliefs.”

—Jeromiah Taylor, New Ways Ministry, September 20, 2025