German priest dismissed as diocesan judge for criticising homosexuality

A Diocese in Germany has dismissed a diocesan judge for remarks criticising and warning about homosexuality, especially in relation to the Church.

The Diocese of Münster has dismissed Father Peter Mettler from his role as diocesan judge after the priest wrote an article sharply critical of homosexuality and the approach the Catholic Church in Germany has taken to issues of sexuality.

His removal followed a press inquiry into his writings on a conservative Catholic website, specifically an article published on 23 September on the Communio Veritatis platform, a site run by clerics sceptical of the German Synodal Way.

In the article, he argued that the rapid acceptance of homosexuality over the last three decades was the result of deliberate cultural engineering and suppression of opposing views.

He also claimed that the consequences of homosexual practice, both physical and psychological, were being ignored or concealed, and he accused the Church of contributing to a wider social shift by admitting and even promoting candidates with openly homosexual tendencies to the priesthood.

He described the abuse crisis in the Church as being in reality a “homosexuality scandal”, a claim that has long circulated in conservative circles but has been strongly disputed in Germany and elsewhere.

Father Mettler, a member of the Missionaries of the Holy Family, had worked as an official in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, for nearly a decade before moving in 2020 to Münster, where he served in the ecclesiastical court, principally in cases concerning marriage.

Father Mettler’s writings for Communio Veritatis, though expressed outside of his official duties, were seen by diocesan authorities as incompatible with the direction of the local Church.

Münster diocesan spokesman Stephan Kronenburg told German media website WESTFALLENPOST that the writings represented the priest’s “purely private views” and were “in many cases fundamentally contrary” to the official positions of the diocese.

The diocesan spokesman explained that the texts conflicted with the vision of the former bishop, Bishop Felix Genn, who consistently spoke in favour of a synodal renewal of the Church and against exclusion of people on grounds of sexuality or gender identity.

Dr Antonius Hamers, the current diocesan administrator, has endorsed these positions, and the diocese has now decided not only to remove Father Mettler from judicial office but also to make clear that he will not be given any pastoral responsibilities in Münster in the future.

The controversy has drawn in neighbouring dioceses. The Diocese of Essen welcomed the “clear stance” taken in Münster and underlined that Father Mettler’s positions on homosexuality and on the Synodal Way were fundamentally opposed to those of its own leadership.

The Archdiocese of Paderborn, while not directly involved, noted its concern over the Communio Veritatis website. One of its own priests, Fr Frank Unterhalt, was earlier asked to cease his involvement with the site, and his refusal led to his removal from office in Brilon. He has since appealed to the Holy See and remains on leave.

The dismissal of Father Mettler comes amid intense debate about the German Synodal Way, the controversial national process launched in 2019 to address clerical abuse and questions of Church governance, sexuality and women’s roles.

The Synodal Way has already adopted resolutions in favour of blessing same-sex couples, revising Catechism teaching on homosexuality and promoting greater participation of lay people in decision-making.

Rome has repeatedly issued warnings against national initiatives that could place the German Church at odds with the universal Church, and the case of Fr Mettler is expected to add to the tensions already under international observation.

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Photo: Juliana and Nini Weinmeister-Bisping smile after Brigitte Schmidt, a pastoral worker, blesses the same-sex couple at the Catholic St. Johannes XXIII Church in Cologne, Germany, 10 May 2021. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images.)