Posted on 05/12/2026 12:59:53 PM PDT by ebb tide
(FSSPX) — The launch of the Synodal Way, the history of which can be found on this site, immediately provoked reactions from Rome. But these rarely went beyond warnings or reprimands, leaving the process unimpeded to this day, and allowing the German episcopate, supported by lay people, to advance decisively along unorthodox paths.
To fully understand the issue of blessings for same-sex couples promoted by the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK), and Rome’s inability to change anything, it is necessary to trace its history within the context of the Synodal Way. The attitude of the Curia and the Pope can then be properly assessed.
Launch of the Synodal Path
The Synodal Path was launched in March 2019, following the DBK’s spring meeting in Lingen. This launch was carried out in collaboration with the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), which would play a leading role in advancing certain issues. As early as September 2019, the Roman Curia sharply criticized the draft statutes of the Synodal Path, but was unable to halt the process.
The criticisms focused on three points: 1) the intended end is illegitimate, because the subjects dealt with “cannot be the subject of resolutions and decisions of a particular Church”; 2) the Synodal Way is a special council that refuses to say its name (to avoid the rules governing such a council); 3) the composition of the Synodal Assembly is contrary to law, due to the parity between clergy and laity.
The president of the DBK at the time was Cardinal Reinhard Marx, a member of the special council of cardinals formed by Pope Francis. He casually dismissed the criticisms of the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts, made at the request of Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, and the mad machine was able to start up. – First retreat by the Curia.
READ: Top Spanish priest warns Pope’s authority faces ‘irreversible’ damage from German crisis
The Synodal Path Sets the Tone
The topics were divided into four forums, the second (later becoming the fourth) dealing with “sexual morality.” The working document for each group was published by the end of 2019. The text of the fourth forum is distressing and revolting. It asserts that the sexual practices of contemporary society constitute a theological domain, to which the human sciences add another.
Reading the text reveals a desire to recognize and bless same-sex couples: “It is necessary to recognize same-sex partnerships unconditionally and to renounce the moral disqualification of the sexual practices that result from them. (…) The liturgical appreciation of these values must also be considered.” These are only the beginnings, and everything is already taking shape.
Rome’s Indirect Reaction
The text could not be ignored by the Curia. Action should have been taken immediately. The precedents of the Dutch “pastoral” council and the Synod of Würzburg should have served as a lesson. But the response was indirect, through a Responsum from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published more than a year after the first Assembly of the Synodal Way, held in January 2020.
On March 15, 2021, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) published a Responsum, or response to a “doubt” or contentious question. This format allows for a brief and decisive formulation. The question is presented as follows: “Does the Church have the power to bless same-sex unions?” And the answer given is: “No.”
The explanatory note accompanying the response acknowledges that “in certain church circles, proposals and plans for blessings for same-sex unions are currently circulating.” Moreover, these are not merely “proposals” or “plans.” There are documented cases of these practices being implemented in various countries.
Thus, Bishop Peter Kohlgraf of Mainz revealed on February 3, 2021, that he had approved a collection of blessings for same-sex couples, specifying: “The celebrations have taken place. Can I cancel a blessing?” This decision was based on a meeting of the Commission for Marriage and Family of the German Bishops’ Conference, held on December 4, 2019 in Berlin.
The Rebellion in Germany
Apart from bishops such as Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg and Stefan Oster of Passau, who thanked Rome for the text, numerous episcopal reactions , in Germany as well as in Belgium, condemned the Roman text. The most vehement was that of Johan Bonny of Antwerp, who expressed his “intellectual and moral incomprehension.”
To these bishops were added 200 German academics and more than 2,000 “pastors”—priests, deacons, and pastoral assistants—who openly refused to comply. The revolt quickly escalated: a group of German priests decided to institute a day of blessing for all LGBT+ couples, set for the Monday before Ascension Day.
There will ultimately be 111 same-sex “ceremonies” in various German cities on May 10, 2021. German bishops wavered between explicit permission and a certain distancing, without condemnation. As for Rome, there was silence: no reaction to this provocation launched against the CDF. – A second retreat by the Curia.
The following year, the provocation and rebellion were repeated for May 10, 2022, with 80 services. For the first time, a bishop participated in a blessing ceremony for same-sex couples on Tuesday, May 10, 2022: Auxiliary Bishop Ludger Schepers of Essen was present at an ecumenical service, reported Cologne Cathedral radio.
EXCLUSIVE: Bishop Strickland says ‘real obedience is to be obedient to the truth that is Jesus Christ’
The Fourth Synod Assembly Endorses Poposals from the 4th Forum
The texts from the 4th Forum on Sexual Morality suffered a partial setback at the Synod Assembly on September 8, 2022: a blocking minority of bishops rejected the “fundamental” text on “renewed sexuality,” triggering a simmering chaos. It must be said that the document is particularly scandalous.
Thus, it is stated that “homosexuality – also expressed in sexual acts – is not a sin that separates one from God and should not be judged as evil in itself. Homosexuality is not a criterion for exclusion from ordained ministry.” Further on, the text recognizes masturbation as a legitimate form of sexuality.
Finally, he specifies that “same-sex partnerships (…) should also be able to consider themselves as being under God’s blessing, expressly granted by the Church, and to be able to live by this blessing. This also applies to people who enter into a new partnership after the failure of a marriage.”
The following day, a text called for “implementation”, calling for a “new magisterial evaluation of homosexuality.” was voted on based on the results of theology and the human sciences.
“1. In the Catechism and in the Compendium, ‘homosexual acts’ must be removed from the list of principal sins against chastity. 2. (…) the Church should recognize that it inflicts suffering as a result of its doctrine and practice regarding homosexuality; 3. (…) No one should be persuaded that their homosexual orientation is inherently sinful; 4. No one should be refused the reception of the sacraments, especially the sacrament of Holy Orders, and no person in the service of the Church should suffer professional disadvantages on account of their homosexual orientation.”
Rome, despite being aware of the situation, still does not react: This is the third retreat by the Curia.
Belgium Supports the Evolution of the Synodal Path
A press release dated September 20, 2022, presents a liturgical text for the blessing of same-sex couples, drafted by the Flemish bishops of Belgium, representing half of the Belgian dioceses. This sparked controversy, not only in Belgium, leading to convoluted explanations. Rome not only failed to react but actually approved it.
This is what Bishop Johan Bonny of Antwerp stated during a declaration made at the Fifth Assembly of the Synodal Way in March 2023. He explained that, during his ad limina visit in November 2022, the Curia reportedly said on this matter: “It’s your Episcopal Conference, it’s your decision.” As for Francis, he reportedly said: “It’s your decision, I understand.” – This is the fourth retreat by the Curia.
READ: Bishop Mutsaerts: Pro-LGBT ‘Catholics’ claim to be inclusive but are intolerant toward tradition
The Synodal Path Votes on a Text Concerning the Blessing of Irregular Couples
On March 10, 2023, the Fifth Assembly adopted the text on “blessing ceremonies for couples who love each other,” affirming that the Church “offers recognition and support to couples who are united in love, meet in full respect and dignity and are ready to live their sexuality in the long term with respect for themselves and with social responsibility.”
It is therefore recommended that the DBK and the ZdK “develop and introduce appropriate liturgical celebrations in a timely manner.” A brochure should include “suggested forms for blessing celebrations for different couple situations (remarried, same-sex, civilly married).”
While there is no “obligation imposed on anyone to perform such celebrations,” conversely, no bishop can impose disciplinary sanctions on a priest who does so. In fact, such blessings had already taken place in all German dioceses, without consequence for the priests, except in the diocese of Cologne, headed by Cardinal Maria Rainer Woelki.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, when questioned on this matter, reiterated that the Vatican had “very clearly” opposed any blessing of same-sex couples, adding that “a local, particular Church cannot make such a decision, which involves the discipline of the universal Church” (March 13, 2023). This warning was soon overruled by Fiducia supplicans.
Cardinal Parolin was undoubtedly referring to the CDF’s Responsum, which was trampled upon by the German ceremonies of May 2021 and 2022, and by the recent vote of the Synod Assembly. In other words, this declaration amounted to a further retreat: the fifth step backward by the Roman Curia.
Implementation of Texts for Blessing Couples
Following the March 2023 vote, plans to bless irregular couples, already well-established, are now openly surfacing in Germany. One well-documented case involves the Diocese of Osnabrück , which is preparing such rituals, citing the Synodal Way resolution. The authors, moreover, candidly admit that they are not truly bound by the Roman decisions.
Furthermore, a working group from the DBK and the ZdK is developing a manual for these blessings. It should be noted that the Roman Curia has not intervened on the texts adopted by the Synodal Way cited above, while it has taken a serious stance on another text – admittedly very problematic – since November 2022.
A separate article will recount this discussion between the German bishops and the Roman Curia, initiated during the ad limina visit of the German episcopate on the question of the “Synodal Council”, to put into perspective the Roman attitude in relation to the forced march of the DBK towards heterodoxy.
Without waiting for the manual in preparation, Bishop Karl-Heinz Wiesemann of Speyer called on the priests of his diocese to grant “blessing ceremonies” for homosexual unions, as well as for adulterous and sinful relationships outside of marriage, in a letter dated November 2, 2023. He invoked the text of the Synodal Way cited above, voted on by 93%.
The rhetoric developed to justify this decision appeals to Pope Francis’ “Who am I to judge?”, to the urgency of pastoral situations, to the need to re-evaluate homosexuality in the Church’s teaching, while accepting that some priests may refuse this invitation but asking them to address it to the diocese.
Reprinted with permission from the Society of St. Pius X.
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
Ping
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.