A conservative minority of Germany’s Catholic bishops on Thursday surprisingly blocked a measure calling on Pope Francis to liberalize church teaching on sexuality, following Vatican warnings that such a move could divide the worldwide church.
The vote in Frankfurt came during the latest in a series of meetings that German bishops and lay church leaders have been holding to consider major changes to Catholic life.
Bishop Georg Bätzing, chairman of the German bishops conference, told the assembly that the vote was a huge disappointment that had created a “crisis-like atmosphere” in the meeting, but called on all members to accept the result.
The statement on sexual ethics debated on Thursday called for removing traditional prohibitions against contraception, homosexual acts and masturbation, and for permitting the blessing of same-sex unions.
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