The head of the German bishops’ conference, George Bätzing, has called on the catholic church to alter its teachings on LGBTQ+ people.

In an interview with the magazine, Herder Korrespondenz, Bishop Bätzing says he wants church blessings for couples who cannot marry in the Catholic Church to be introduced. This refers to people who have previously divorced and same-sex couples.

“We need solutions that are not only effective in private, but also have public visibility — yet make it clear that no marriage is being solemnised,” he said.

The current church teachings state that homosexual sex is “intrinsically disordered,” but LGBTQ+ people are to be treated with “respect, compassion and sensitivity” and without discrimination.

Bishop Bätzing wants this to change saying that homosexual sex should no longer be considered a sin.

In September 2020, Pope Francis made history by meeting with the parents of LGBTQ+  children for the first time. The parents voiced their concerns to the Church’s discriminatory stance on the LGBTQ+ community.

While the Catholic Church’s longstanding anti-LGBTQ+ stance has deeply affected LGBTQ+ people of faith, the Pope’s meeting with Tenda di Gionata presents the beginning of a more open dialogue moving forward.

Filippo M. said, “In the painful journey that, as LGBTQ+ believers, each of us has made a confession, I would not have imagined that we would have reached this stage.”

A month later in October, it appeared that Pope Francis called for civil union laws for same-sex couples.

His remarks which were made in the documentary, ‘Francesco’, were backtracked by Vatican officials who said the Pontiff’s comments were taken out of context from an old interview.

Pope Francis has expressed an interest in outreach to the church’s LGBTQ+ followers in the past but his remarks have often stressed general understanding and welcoming rather than any explicit support of rights.