Germany: The Diocese of Limburg Imposes Gender Ideology

The bishop of the diocese of Limburg is Msgr. Georg Bätzing, president of the German Episcopal Conference, and one of the presidents of the Synodal Path. By publishing this document, he has implemented a decision of the Diocesan Synodal Council, a decision which is opposed to the doctrine of the Church.

Thus, in the 3rd point, “Accepting sexual orientation, gender and lifestyle diversity,” one can read: “There is a diversity of sexual identity and orientation. The treatment of these differences and diversities should be actively promoted in parishes and institutions.”

In the plain language version, which was co-published, this point goes so far as to say: “There is not only one sexuality between man and woman. It also exists between woman and woman, or between man and man. Or between people who feel they are neither women nor men.”

This clearly contradicts what is taught in Genesis and what the Church teaches: that God created human beings as male and female. The document repeatedly refers to the fact that each person must find their sexual self-determination and that this must be lived openly and promoted by the Church.

Maria 1.0 wonders in a press release. Maria 1.0 is a movement initiated by Catholic women in Germany, which has the motto “Mary does not need an update,” and which seeks the preservation of “traditional Catholic doctrine” and a new evangelization.

The question posed by this movement is: where is God here, where is the faith? According to Maria 1.0, the circumstances surrounding the creation of the guidelines reveal a staggering cynicism and stubbornness: Bishop Bätzing always stresses that Germany is not on a special path, and certainly not on the path of schism.

But with this decree, he ignores the clear instruction from Rome of July 21, 2022, which indicates that the doctrine, structure, and morals of the Church cannot be changed. The Vatican statement also emphasizes that believers should not be forced to accept new forms of doctrine and morals.

Nevertheless, the new decree is binding for parish priests and employees of diocesan institutions, as Katharina Döring, responsible for family education in the diocese, explained during the presentation of the guidelines.

That's not all, warns Maria 1.0: Bishop Bätzing is implementing an orientation text of the Synodal Path which did not obtain the necessary majority of the bishops at the Synodal Assembly of September 2022. It should be noted that the bishop of Limburg had announced that he would proceed in this way, and that he would implement the rejected text in his diocese.

According to Maria 1.0, all that remains is to hope that a definitive ‘no’ from Rome finally arrives and that the German synodal theses are condemned.