Barring of same sex blessings backlash

Wednesday 5th May 2021

Young Belgian RCs abandon the Church

As many as 700 mainly young people formally left the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Antwerp in two weeks.

This is following on from the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith’s barring the blessing of same sex unions, Bishop of Antwerp Johan Bonny has revealed. The bishop, interviewed by The Tablet Rome correspondent Christopher Lamb in our latest webinar, spoke about the “dramatic” backlash among “mainly straight people” who saw the Vatican document as “a step too far” during a discussion about the Church’s ministry to LGBT Catholics and same-sex couples. Sarah Mac Donald reports in The Tablet.

From Germany, Christa Pongratz Lippitt reports that more than 10,500 priests have signed a petition put together by a group of German Catholic priests who are against the ruling and many are forging ahead with plans for blessings

Elsewhere in the RC Church

Campaign to bar Biden from Holy Communion

Michael Sean Winters writes of the latest on the campaign to get the US bishops’ conference to adopt a document effectively barring President Joe Biden from Communion. In The Tablet magazine, Michael takes an in-depth look at Joe Biden’s idealism, and his progressive brand of Catholicism that disappoints some on both Left and Right, both inside and outside the Church.

Pope encourages population growth

Pope Francis will open a conference later this month looking at how to reverse Italy’s low birth-rate. Francis, who the Vatican said is to take part in the Rome event in person, has lamented the “Italian demographic winter” and warned that “the future is in danger”. Christopher Lamb reports.