BERLIN — More than 100 Roman Catholic parishes in Germany offered blessings to gay couples on Monday in defiance of church teaching and their own bishops.
The call for nationwide blessings came in response to a decree issued by the Vaticanon March 15, reinforcing the church’s prohibition of priests asking for God’s benevolence for gay couples, stating that God “does not and cannot bless sin.” A group of 16 German priests and volunteers organized a petition that within days collected more than 2,000 signatures.