Controversy Brews Over German Bishops’ Pro-LGBTQ+ School Guidelines

A controversy has emerged over the the German Bishops’ Conference’s educational guidelines which are supportive of LGBTQ+ students.

The cover of “Created, Redeemed, and Loved”

The 48-page text, entitled “Created, Redeemed, and Loved: Visibility and Recognition of the Diversity of Sexual Identities in Schools,” has generated plenty of support from schools and teachers in Germany since its publication in October, but some bishops have decided not to implement the document’s recommendations in their dioceses. 

Six education associations across dioceses have lent their support to the document, saying in a joint statement that it sets “an important example for the equal recognition and appreciation of all people who learn, work, and cooperate together in schools.” At the same time, several bishops including Bishop Stefan Oster have “sharply criticized” the paper, pointed out its limitations and “distanced themselves” from its guidelines, according to Katholisch.de.

The statement from the associations, explained how the guidelines benefit the schools:

“The document strengthens the associations in their core task of accompanying children, adolescents, and young adults on their journey, ‘strengthening them in their development into self-determined and socially responsible individuals, and keeping alive, in dialogue with them (and all involved), the question of God and the hope that fills us.’”

The six associations are the Federal Association of Catholic Religious Education Teachers at Grammar Schools, the Forum of Catholic Women Theologians “AGENDA”, the Working Group for Catholic Religious Education and Catechetics, the German Catechists’ Association, the Catholic Educators’ Association of Germany, and the Association of Catholic Religious Education Teachers at Vocational Schools.

The associations’ statement specifically highlights the document’s holistic approach as a positive because calls for an “open, respectful approach” to dealing with LGBTQ+ youth in religious schools, and for teachers to present moral teaching on sexuality in a nuanced way. It also recognizes findings from “both the natural and human sciences,” which lends “credibility” to the Christian faith.The guidelines  articulate the Christian position not as wholly shut-off to the experiences of LGBTQ+ Catholics, but as “first and foremost perceiving and taking seriously the diversity of existences, life plans, and questions before offering answers.”

Johannes Stollhof

In addition to the associations’ statement, a Katholisch.de interview with, Johannes Stollhof, the headmaster of a Franciscan Catholic school in Mutlangen, also provides a positive response to the bishops’ document. According to Stollhof, these guidelines deal with situations teachers, students, and administrators are facing everyday. He believes that the document will give him a doctrinal leg to stand on when discussing solutions. He stated:

“It’s certainly helpful to be able to say: We didn’t just make this up ourselves; this is the current standard for Catholic schools. If you will, that’s the argument from authority, which can definitely help in some debates—for example, when I’m accused of no longer representing Church doctrine and of no longer being a Catholic school. In that case, I would have liked to say: I’d be happy to send you a document from the bishop, which you can then discuss.”

However, several bishops have expressed dissatisfaction with the document Bishop Oster of Passau put out a statement on his website in which he said:

 “Even though the cover of the brochure bears the inscription ‘The German Bishops,the text does not speak for me.” 

Bishop Stefan Oster

Oster’s primary issue with the document is that it puts “the conception of humanity and the Church as sacraments” up for debate. The Church has very concrete definitions of humanity, and the relationship between the body, the spirit, sin, and God, he said, and, if some of these definitions are called into question, Oster believes it could lead “to a different doctrine of revelation, of the sacraments, of salvation—and thus necessarily to a different doctrine of the Church and its existence—ultimately even to a different understanding of the Triune God.”

Other bishops and theologians echo Oster’s criticisms. The Diocese of Regensburg, with the support of its Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer, published Oster’s statement on their website, as did theDiocese of Cologne. 

Franz-Josef Bormann, a moral theologian Tübingen University , argues that the document is “unscientific, reliant on feel-good and acceptance rhetoric, and [ignores] the medical and psychological problems faced by many queer or transgender young people.”

Oster’s statement does acknowledge the “underlying concern” of the document for the personal well-being of LGBTQ+ youth and adults. However, he finds fault with what he sees as the document’s implicit suggestion that Catholic doctrine on sexuality as it stands now might “hinder” rather than help the formation of a young person’s identity. 

—Lynnzee Dick, New Ways Ministry, December 6, 2025