A meeting of German Catholic bishops and lay representatives agreed on Friday to ask the church to approve the blessings of same-sex unions.
The three-day meeting, which is part of the “Synodal Path” launched in 2019 in response to the sexual abuse crisis that has rocked the Church in Germany and many other countries, brings together more than 200 representatives of Catholic life in Germany.
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A majority of 176 attendees voted in favor of same-sex blessings as of March 2026. Fourteen attendees voted against, with 12 abstaining. Crucially, the necessary support of two-thirds of the 67 German bishops has also been achieved, reported the news agency Dpa.
Catholic bishops and lay representatives in Germany called on the church to recognize same-sex unions at a meeting on Friday. (Fox News)
Many congregations already perform such ceremonies, but these are not formally approved by the Catholic Church, a position reaffirmed by the Vatican in 2021.
In a bid to allay Rome’s concerns, German church leaders have insisted the trial will not trigger a schism.
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However, Pope Francis himself said in a January interview with the Associated Press that the process could become harmfully “ideological.”
For the Catholic Church globally, the pontiff has called for a two-part synod, or assembly, that will bring bishops and laity to discuss the future direction of the church and ways it can rejuvenate its mission.
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At the same time, German bishops are under pressure from frustrated grassroots Catholics in a country where Christians are more or less equally divided between Protestants and Catholics.
