Munich: twenty-six priests publicly challenge the blessings promoted by Cardinal Marx

Context

On July 24, 2026, Infovaticana reported the publication of a collective text signed by twenty-six priests of the diocese of Munich-Freising, formally addressed to Cardinal Reinhard Marx, denouncing the diocesan application of blessings for "irregular" and homosexual couples authorized by Fiducia supplicans (Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, December 18, 2023). Cardinal Marx, a member of the Council of Cardinals (C9) and a driving force behind the German Synodal Path, had been one of the most fervent promoters of the extension of these blessings in his diocese.

The Facts

The signatories demand the immediate cessation of established diocesan practices, considered incompatible with Catholic doctrine. The text reproaches the archbishop for presenting these blessings as a form of ecclesiastical recognition, even though Fiducia supplicans explicitly excluded any liturgical assimilation and any form approaching the sacrament of marriage. This internal rebellion prolongs a concern already expressed by the African episcopal conferences as early as January 2024. We had already reported, in publications #944, #984, and #1425, the tensions related to the appointment of pro-blessing German bishops and the inconsistency reported in Rome.

Doctrinal Analysis

The heart of the debate remains doctrinal. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, in number 2357, that homosexual acts are "intrinsically disordered" and can in no case receive "approval." Number 2358 simultaneously recalls the welcome due to homosexual persons, "with respect, compassion, and delicacy." Fiducia supplicans placed itself in this balance: blessing persons, not a union. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in its Responsum of February 22, 2021 (signed Ladaria), had already refused any blessing of homosexual unions. The Munich diocesan shift crosses a boundary that the 2023 Roman Declaration had explicitly closed.

Stakes for the Church and the Faithful

The signal is twofold. On the one hand, a clergy rises within the diocese of its archbishop: priestly resistance is no longer the prerogative of the Fraternity of St. Pius X. On the other hand, the question posed to Rome is direct. Leon XIV recently appointed a pro-blessing German bishop in Eichstätt (publication #961), while the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has not publicly commented on the diocesan application of the text for several months. Roman coherence is at stake.

Critical Reading and Blind Spots

The prolonged silence of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith is striking. Cardinal Fernández had affirmed the "purely pastoral" value of the blessings; the German application, presented as quasi-liturgical, contradicts this without Rome intervening. The "purely pastoral" remains a fuzzy concept as long as it is not legally defined.

To Ponder and Act

Let us pray for these priests and for the unity of the diocese of Munich. The reminder of Persona humana (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, December 29, 1975) remains: the anthropological truth of sexuality is not negotiable in the name of a supposed pastoral approach.