German ‘Catholic Days’ festival plays host to homosexual activists
Homosexuals, male and female, are scheduled to
be the “star guests” of the 2016 edition of a two-yearly event organized by the
Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), the “Katholikentag” (or
“Catholic’s Day”) which is to take place from May 25-29 in Leipzig. They will
be “massively” present at events, round tables and even during church services,
giving witness to the revolutionary power of the Central Committee of German
Catholics, a lay organization that has close links with the Bishops’ Conference
and which promotes a more “moderate” Catholic teaching on marriage, family and
sexuality.
The event will be hosted by the Diocese of
Dresden-Meissen and a number of German prelates will take part, according
to Vaticanist Marco Tosatti, including Cardinal
Reinhard Marx, president of the German Bishops’ Conference, and Archbishop
Heiner Koch of Berlin. Cardinal
Karl Lehmann was
among the 100 personalities who have sent congratulations for the 100th edition
of the Katholikentag, founded 160 years ago: the anniversary “reminds us of the
conquest of greater liberty, also for the Churches,” he writes.
This is the first time ever that German
homosexual groups are officially welcome at the Katholikentag. A “Rainbow
Center” – a meeting place for LGBT believers and LGBT groups – will be set up
as the Catholic Church follows suit after similar “Protestant days” in 2015 in
Stuttgart welcomed not only a Rainbow Center but also about 100 events for
LGBT’s, “queers” and “gender issues.”
The German website queer.de happily gives
details of
the upcoming Katholikentag. Many groups, including the Catholic Lesbian
Network, the Workgroup Homosexuals and Church, as well as so-called “grassroot”
Catholic pressure groups, will be present. Manuela Sabozin of the Catholic
Lesbian Network said: “It’s not that we are being tolerated by the Katholikendag,
we have on the contrary been able to push our themes to the fore.”
These themes include the “daily life of
rainbow families,” acceptance of “trans” persons and “genderphobia” in the
Church, and the possibility of giving same-sex couples an official blessing.
Most of the events, underscores queer.de, “will be included within the official
schedule of the Bishops’ conference.” However, the Rainbow Center itself will
be set up in an Evangelical center in Leipzig. Homosexual groups will celebrate
an ecumenical event there with performances by the “Tollkirsche” (“deadly
nightshade”) cantors and a Lesbian choir, “Queerubim”.
German Catholic blogger Mathias von Gersdorff
wrote about the upcoming events in Leipzig and his article was picked up by the Rainbow
Center’s Facebook page with
the comment: “Hurrah, we are the star guests!” The Center is
inviting its members to join the fun…
The fact that the Rainbow Center is being
hosted by a non-Catholic organization in Leipzig could lead trusting Catholics
to believe that the LGBT community is availing itself of an endorsement that it
never received. However, the authorized website of Katholikentag is announcing
all the “gay” and “queer” events named by the Rainbow Center, including those
that will take place at its own venue, and groups such as the Catholic Lesbian
Network and the Workgroup Homosexuals and Church find their
place in the list of
Church groups covering a whole range of charitable and hierarchical organizations,
which also includes the Association of Catholic Priests and their Wives.
Among the events that will take place under
the auspices of the Central Committee of German Catholics are a forum on
“Marriage for all,” on the issue of “equality between homosexual and
heterosexual couples,” a workshop called “Cross and Queer” presenting “gay and
lesbian communities within the Church as a basic model,” and a workshop
entitled “Even lesbians and gays grow old.” Experiences between lesbians are on
the program, and the theme “Praying the Psalms today – submitting new Psalms”
will also be presented by the Catholic Lesbian Network.
Not surprisingly, this year’s general theme
for the Catholic Days of the Church in Germany is not “God served first” (as
Joan of Arc was wont to say) but “People
first”: “What should we want and do for people of
today to live together in the future?” The Lutheran Church of Saxony will be
officially presented together with the eastern dioceses of Germany.
Mathias von Gersdorff gives many
more details. For example, on the political
front concerning “marriage for all” – which includes same-sex “marriage” – one
of the main speakers will be openly gay Parliament member for the Christian
Democrats (CDU) Stefan Kaufmann. Biblical studies will focus on “A new vision
of Scripture” and, for transgender persons, a reflection on “the tension
between faith and Bible.”
While a lay organization such as the Central
Committee of German Catholics does not represent the official hierarchy of the
Catholic Church, the official support it enjoys and the fact that a number of
Masses will be offered as part of these Katholikentagen where the homosexual
lifestyle will be sanctioned and even glorified is a scandal in itself.
