Bishop Georg Bätzing, president of the German Episcopal Conference, defended this Monday the pastoral guide that opens the door to blessing unmarried couples and homosexual unions.
A document in dispute with Rome
After his visit to Leo XIV a few weeks ago, he remained silent… until now. In his speech at the opening of the autumn plenary assembly of the German bishops in Fulda, he stated that he saw no reasons to withdraw the document published in April together with the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK).
The German text, titled Segen gibt der Liebe Kraft (“The blessing gives strength to love”), was presented as an adaptation of the Vatican declaration Fiducia supplicans, approved in 2023 by Pope Francis. While the Roman document established that blessings should be brief, spontaneous, and without rituals, the German guide leaves the specific form of imparting them in the hands of pastoral agents, with suggestions that border on the ritualized.
Leo is not a copy of Francis, but it is continuity
Asked about the recent statements by Pope Leo XIV, Bätzing responded emphatically: “We do not deliberate on interviews of the Holy Father”. At the same time, he assured that he felt “confirmed” by the Pontiff in the line that the Church in Germany has been following with the so-called Synodal Way.
Pope Leo XIV had warned just a few days earlier, in the interview granted to Crux, that in northern Europe “rituals of blessing for ‘people who love each other’” were being promoted, which, he emphasized, “goes specifically against the document approved by Francis, Fiducia supplicans”. But he also added that it is “highly unlikely” that in the near future the Church’s teaching on marriage and sexuality will change.
The German prelate stated that the new Pope “is not a copy of Francis, but is fully in his continuity”, thus defending that his pastoral line does not contradict the Holy See. Bätzing revealed that he held an audience with Leo XIV in early September, in which he perceived “great sympathy for Germany” and a willingness to maintain open dialogue.
Divided reactions in the German dioceses
The blessing guide has provoked a varied response in the dioceses. While Limburg and Rottenburg-Stuttgart have welcomed it enthusiastically, even developing forms and extensive prayers under titles like “We love each other — what a blessing!”, others such as Cologne, Augsburg, Eichstätt, Passau, and Regensburg have rejected implementing it for contradicting the Vatican norm of not ritualizing blessings.
Source: The Pillar / CNA Deutsch