A growing number of German dioceses are refusing to adopt a new text for blessing couples, citing inconsistencies with Rome’s December 2023 declaration Fiducia Supplicans.
On 5 August, it was confirmed that the dioceses of Augsburg, Eichstätt, Passau, and Regensburg have joined the Archdiocese of Cologne in rejecting the blessing guidelines jointly produced by the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) and the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK). The document, Segen spendet Liebe Kraft (“Blessing Gives Strength to Love”), had been circulating since March as a pastoral resource for blessing couples, including same-sex and irregular unions.
