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Twenty-six priests in Germany’s Archdiocese of Munich and Freising have reportedly written to Cardinal Reinhard Marx, saying that his request that they follow national guidelines on blessings has presented them with a loyalty conflict, because the Vatican has criticized the guidance.
Die Tagespost reported July 23 on a May letter in which the priests requested a dialogue with the cardinal about whether they owed obedience to him as their archbishop or to “the general doctrine and moral teaching of the universal Church” concerning the blessing of couples in irregular situations, including same-sex couples.
Marx, who also serves as the coordinator of the Vatican’s Council for the Economy, reportedly responded to the letter by proposing that the national guidance be implemented in the Munich and Freising archdiocese for a one-year pilot period.
The cardinal is said to have underlined that the guidelines should not be understood as a canonically binding order and added that he would invite priests to discuss the matter after the trial period elapsed.
Controversy has swirled around the German Church’s national guidance since it was first made public on April 23, 2025, two days after the death of Pope Francis.
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