125 Catholic church people publicly profess to be queer: Bavarian priest explains why

Created: 01/25/2022, 11:20 am

By: Johannes Welte

The Würzburg university pastor Burkhard Hose © Michael Kniess

In the middle of the discussion about the abuse scandal, 125 priests and employees of the Catholic Church drew attention to themselves with an unusual confession: Under the title: OutInChurch they came out as homosexual, transsexual or intersexual.

Among them was the Würzburg university pastor Burkhard Hose (54).

Würzburg – Hose has been a priest since 1994 and a university chaplain in Würzburg for 13 years, he is gay.

"It is important to us that non-heterosexual people are made visible in the church," explains the priest.

Employees of the Church or its organizations may face termination if they publicly engage in a homosexual relationship or in a registered partnership or same-sex marriage.

"It's because of church service law," Hose explains.

"The duty of loyalty to the employer plays an important role." Church employees must not violate the teachings and morals of the church in their way of life and attitude, this also applies to remarried people.

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Bavarian priest comes out as gay - "That doesn't matter in everyday life"

Hose himself has long been out in his environment.

He revealed himself to the Bishop of Würzburg, and his orientation has also been known in the university community for years.

"That doesn't play a role in everyday life," says Hose.

“However, dealing with homosexuality must not be left to the benevolence of the individual bishop.

We need legal certainty, not fear of being prosecuted.” For priests, celibacy is taboo anyway, regardless of whether they are gay or straight.

Hose thinks: "Celibacy urgently needs change."

However, that is not the subject of the outing campaign.

Hose: "It's about recognizing us as people who aren't straight, that has to be enforced in the church because it's a human right." Church teaching, which still contains a rejection of queer people, has to be changed.

Hose: "The view that anyone who is not straight lives against the natural and divine order has long been outdated theologically and humanely."

Bavaria: Outing campaign in the Catholic Church

Indirectly, the outing campaign has something to do with the sandal of abuse: "The church system is more and more visible in its poisoning effect in places where people are pushed into secret, where the exploitation of power plays a role, where sexuality and power go hand in hand connected, so sexuality has to be talked about openly in the church.”