German Dioceses and Lay Association Support Rituals for LGBTQ+ Blessings

German Catholic leaders pushed back against recent comments by Pope Leo XIV. criticizing formal blessing ceremonies for same-gender couples, with several dioceses and the country’s top Catholic lay body affirming their intention to continue the practice. 

Blessing ceremonies, which have been formalized in a document from the German bishops’ conference entitled “Blessings for Couples Who Love Each Other,”  would continue for couples who do not wish to enter into a church-sanctioned sacramental marriage or for whom such a marriage is not permitted, such as same-gender couples. 

At a press conference onn his return flight from an Africa trip, Pope Leo XIV was asked about the German bishops’ rituals for blessings, and he said Rome had made clear to German bishops that it does not approve of formal blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples, adding that going beyond the informal blessings permitted by his predecessor Francis creates more division than unity in the Church. At that time, he did not threaten canonical action and stressed that other issues matter more to the Church than questions of sexual morality.

Fiducia Supplicans, the 2023 Vatican document which permitted such blessings, stated that blessings should not be formalized and rituals for them should not be prepared or institutionalized.

However, Irme Stetter-Karp, president of the Central Committee of German Catholics, the country’s highest representative body of lay Catholics, defended the nation’s blessing practice, saying that the guidance document f Germany’s Synodal Way reform process) had recommended that blessings be formal, and suggested a method which eliminates confusion between a sacramental marriage and the approved blessings.

Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, who until recently chaired the German Bishops’ Conference, said pastoral workers in his diocese would continue to be encouraged to offer blessing ceremonies, calling the practice responsible and not a threat to Church unity. The Diocese of Speyer similarly said it considers its approach consistent with Fiducia Supplicans. “Even though there are differing opinions on this within the universal Church, I see this practice in the Diocese of Limburg as being within a responsible framework. It serves the people and, in my view, does not endanger the unity of the Church,” Bätzing said.

The Diocese of Speyer has also backed Bishop Bätzing’s remarks. A spokesperson shared that the diocese practices “a  stance of encountering same-sex couples and also enabling them to receive a blessing.” 

Bishop Karl-Heinz Wiesemann of Speyer already stated in November 2023 that the Church needed to reassess its doctrine that bans sexual relationships for lesbian and gay people. He has since encouraged informal blessings for same-sex couples and encouraged pastoral staff to treat those individuals with sensitivity.

Explaining his stance Wiesemann stated “With all this, my aim—not least against the backdrop of a long history of profound hurt—was to find a different pastoral approach, one inspired by the Gospel.”

The Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart acknowledged the need for continued dialogue with Rome but said it would not abandon pastoral accompaniment of couples seeking God’s blessing. 

The Archdiocese of Cologne, by contrast, expressed gratitude for the pope’s remarks, with Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki welcoming them as a reminder of the importance of acting in concert with the universal Church.

–Matthew Gorczyca, New Ways Ministry, May 11, 2026