German bishops: "Bless gay couples? We will continue"

"I will not take away" the possibility of blessing those same-sex couples who "believe and ask for God's blessing".

This was stated by the president of the German Bishops' Conference, Monsignor Georg Baetzing, in a press conference in Rome, after the meeting with the Pope and the Curia, responding to those who asked if after these meetings in the Vatican he would prevent bishops and priests from continuing in the blessings of gay couples.

    The bishop assured that the German Church, despite the profound diversity of some views, does not want to separate itself from the Catholic Church: "For none of the German bishops, for none of the lay Catholics, this has ever been an option. Never".

"We are and remain Catholics, but we want to be Catholics in a different way and we feel this responsibility", added Baetzing, specifying that schism is spoken of "from the outside to frighten and intimidate".

    The Church - added Baetzing - must change, "we cannot go on as before, it is a question of transmitting the message of the Gospel here and now, and not always looking to the past, even running the risk of a bruised Church. In this, the conversation with Pope Francis was encouraging".