German bishops, to bless gay couples? 'we will continue'

(ANSA) - VATICAN CITY, NOVEMBER 19 - "I will not take away" the possibility of blessing those homosexual 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 have prevented bishops and priests from continuing to bless 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 Catholics and we remain Catholics but we want to be Catholics in a different way and we feel this responsibility", added Baetzing, specifying that we are talking about schism "from the outside, allowing fear to 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 the Pope Francesco was encouraging."

(HANDLE).