Bishop Georg Batzing © Julia Steinbrecht (KNA)
Ie still open? Bishop Georg Batzing reacted cautiously to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's "no" to the blessing of homosexual couples and showed himself open to a further development of church teaching on this subject.
"In doing so, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith reflects the state of Church teaching as reflected in several Roman documents," the president of the German Bishops' Conference said Monday in Bonn.
In Germany and in other parts of the world church, however, there have been discussions for some time about "how this doctrine and doctrinal development can be advanced in general with viable arguments – on the basis of fundamental truths of faith and morals, progressive theological reflection, and likewise in openness to more recent results of the human sciences and the life situations of people today.".
There are no easy answers to questions of this kind.
Theme on the Synodal Way
With regard to the reform process of the Synodal Way, which the Bishops' Conference has initiated with the Central Committee of German Catholics, the chairman explained that the points of view put forward by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith must and would of course find their way into these discussions.
The Synodal Way, he said, strives to "discuss the very topic of successful relationships in a comprehensive way that also considers the necessity and the limits of church doctrinal development.".
Batzing, as bishop of Limburg, has made it clear on several occasions that he can imagine a church blessing for couples who are not allowed to marry in church – also for homosexual couples. "We need solutions for this that not only take effect in private, but also have a public visibility – but make it clear that no marriage is endowed," he said in an interview with "Herder Korrespondenz" (January) at the end of December.