Mass Disobedience

When I read this report at Crisis Magazine, I was shocked that there would be such open defiance of the Roman Catholic Church's official teaching on marriage, 

On May 10, 2021, over 500 Catholic priests throughout Germany will hold a mass blessing of gay unions that will take place in 50 different parishes. Most of these clerics have the unequivocal support of their bishops and have been told that they need not worry about canonical sanctions.  This heterodox and defiant event, which threatens to edge the Church closer to the precipice of schism, is called “Love Wins, Blessing Service for Lovers.” Bishop Georg Bätzing, head of the German Bishops Conference, contends that such blessings are warranted since they reflect the sensus fidelium and represent an evolution of pastoral practice toward same-sex couples. 

The “Love Wins” ceremony loudly proclaims the disapproval of the German hierarchy with the recent Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) ban on such blessings. According to the CDF statement approved by Pope Francis, “it is not licit to impart a blessing on relationships…that involve sexual activity outside marriage.” But many German bishops and priests seem to believe that “love” conquers all, including magisterial instructions that reflect immutable Catholic doctrine anchored in Sacred Scripture.  

Reports from the field say that indeed blessings tool place, and it is difficult to quantify how many, but reports are that 100 Catholic churches across Germany offered blessings to same-sex couples on March 10, 2021 according to the NYT.

For those who swam the Tiber when they left the Episcopal cult, this is proof that there is no safe haven in Rome, unless the Pope comes down hard on the Germans.

Don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen.