Pope Francis has spoken out in favor of recognizing same-sex partnerships.
We spoke about it with Sebastian Körber (FDP).
He founded the first gay parliamentary group.
Sebastian Körber, 40, is a founding member of the first gay parliamentary group in the state parliament.
He is also the FDP's queer political spokesman.
Mr. Körber, are you churchgoers?
Yes, when time allows, I go to church occasionally.
Not just at funerals and weddings.
How do you rate the Pope's words?
They are an important step in the right direction.
Many homosexuals no longer believed in such a thing that the Pope would ever speak in this direction.
It is also an important signal for very Catholic countries.
I am thinking of Poland, where homosexuals are still discriminated against and also persecuted.
Even so, the Catholic Church is unfortunately still against homosexual marriage.
It makes a difference whether you live out your homosexuality in a big city like Munich or in a village. What could the Pope's words do in the Bavarian province?
A lot could be shaken here.
But it is also clear that there will be resistance to the Pope's line.
Archconservative Catholics will wonder whether Francis is still adequately representing them.
What is happening right now is more than a storm in a water glass - it is a first step towards a more liberal church institution.
Can Francis use his path to get more homosexuals excited about the Church again?
Spoken for myself: I am married to my husband.
And I say: thank God something is moving.
This path could bring many lesbian or gay couples who are believers closer to the church as an institution.
Would you have liked to have married in church?
I am catholic, my husband is evangelical.
I would have liked a ceremony because it is somehow part of it.
But I haven't even discussed that with my husband.
He's reading it in the newspaper today.
(laughs).
Church is one thing. What topics are you still working on?
Homosexuals who want to donate blood are still discriminated against.
You must fill out a form if you have had sex with men in the past twelve months.
We want to abolish this practice.
It would also be nice if two men in love sit next to each other on the park bench in Bavarian school books.
Because it is like this: The population in the Free State is significantly larger than the state government.