On December 1, the Bavarian Catholic Archdiocese of Munich-Freising reorganized how it ministers to queer people by creating a nationwide "diocesan network for queer pastoral care," serviced by specially trained care workers.

During the presentation of the new service, Ruth Huber, who heads the archdiocese's administrative center responsible for pastoral care and church life, said this was "another big step" toward the inclusion of queer believers. She said the archdiocese welcomes queer people into the Catholic Church and is trying to create a "safer space" for them within the church.

Until the end of November, St. Paul's Church in Munich presented an exhibition of large-format portraits of 14 queer people — individuals who had been involved in the #OutInChurch initiative, which called for a change in attitude toward queer church employees.

More church services

Munich-Freising is not the first German diocese to offer this kind of pastoral care. Several others, such as those in Freiburg, Trier and Berlin, already have such services. However, Munich-Freising is considered one of Germany's most important archdioceses, as Pope Benedict  XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) was its archbishop from 1977 to 1982.

Since February, Ludger Schepers has been the German Bishops' Conference's Pastoral Commission's representative to the queer community. Schepers, the auxiliary bishop of Essen, told DW that he had already been working for six years in this area of pastoral care for queer people, albeit "without an official mandate."

Schepers said the new network in Munich is a positive step. However, he added that "not every diocese will be able to take on the issue on the same scale as a large archdiocese, such as in Munich or Freiburg."

Schepers believes the dioceses should build networks, and has some suggestions for everyday improvements. "In principle, it is desirable that local church staff become sensitized about their choice of words and ensure that people's concerns are taken seriously. There should be no discrimination," he said.

Fighting discrimination

Less than two years ago, Germany's Catholic Church liberalized its employment law for the approximately 790,000 church employees and Caritas, a Catholic confederation of service organizations, following years of complaints about discrimination.

The liberalization meant the Catholic Church had announced its intention to stop probing the private lives of its employees and to stop dismissing people for entering into a same-sex partnership.  

In the Archdiocese of Munich-Freising, the new pastoral service is intended to offer pastoral care to queer people, as well as to their relatives. Seventeen pastoral carers have qualified for the service.

One of them is Franziska Ilmberger, who works at the Munich University chaplaincy. In an interview with local newspaper, Abendzeitung, she said that being a Christian, for her, means standing up "when people are wronged."

Ilmberger argued that queer people experience much injustice in their lives, and are judged for who they love. She said the message of Jesus is opposed to such discrimination.

Kevin Hellwig, a 29-year-old church employee, is engaged to his same-sex partner. He welcomed the establishment of the new network, calling it "very good.

"We are reaching out to people who have been driven away from the church for decades, and centuries," Hellwig told DW.

He said, however, that the Catholic Church can't expect "that gays and lesbians will come knocking on the church doors." Instead, he believes the Church should go to where LGBTQ+ people are living and working,  and talk to them.

Hellwig feels it is also important that the church takes a stand against those within the Church who have right-wing extremist views, and demonstrate hatred of LGBTQ+ life.

Reform to continue

Auxiliary Bishop Schepers said church members "at the grassroots level" generally seem to be more advanced than the Church establishment when it comes to queer life. 

He emphasized that every single person is a creature of God. "And the way he or she is right now, is simply the way it is [...] there is no such thing as 'more' or 'less' dignity." But Schepers conceded that the new openness at the grassroots level is not enough.

Schepers said the Church's texts "must be reviewed in light of today's insights, in terms of moral theology, and ethics." He feels the Synodal Committee — which promotes dialogue within the Church and convenes every December — should focus on this topic in the near future.

Kevin Hellwig, however, wishes for even more change. For instance, with respect to Catholic sexual morality, "the homosexual act remains a sin. Nothing has changed at all," he argued. Despite the expanded pastoral services, Hellwig finds the unchanged Church's rules "disheartening."

For him, the new network only provides hope for more change. "The Church needs to move much further," he said. Perhaps the new network of pastoral carers will indeed pass along this pressure — to the top.

This article was originally written in German.

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