Reps of Catholic Church in Germany declare themselves LGBTists

Protestant congregations often feature rainbow symbolism demonstrating LGBT "hospitality". Photo: novayagazeta.ru

125 representatives of the Roman Catholic Church in Germany have publicly declared their affiliation with the LGBTQ+ community, demanding a change in church labor law, according to the German weekly Zeit.

As specified in the message, among those who disclosed their belonging to LGBTQ+ there are priests, pastors-referents and leaders of Catholic communities, male and female teachers of religious schools, female and male employees of the church administration.

A group of Catholics held “#OutInChurch. For a Church Without Fear” action, in which they made a collective coming-out, i.e. they openly admitted that they are queer or people who are not heterosexual.

The participants of the action published the full list of demands on their Instagram page. The activists demanded that the Church's labor laws be changed so that "sexual orientation and gender identity are no longer grounds for dismissal or discrimination." They also want "slanderous statements of gender and sexuality" to be removed from church teaching.

According to the publication, nearly 20 Catholic associations and organizations show solidarity with queer Catholics. In a joint statement, they said they should no longer "exist in the shadows out of fear if they don't conform to the gender image standardized by the church."

As reported by the UOJ, Finland brought to court the criminal prosecution of MP Päivi Ryasanen for quoting the Bible, where homosexuality is called defilement.

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