Catholic churches around Germany were offering blessings for gay couples on Monday in a protest against the Vatican s refusal to approve same-sex partnerships.
More than 100 churches around the country have signed up to host services under the motto love wins on or around May 10 in the scheme initiated by priests, deacons and volunteers.
At the services, all couples will be invited to be blessed - regardless of sexual orientation.
A rainbow flag is seen on the wall of a Catholic church as the building is open for same-sex couples to receive a blessing in Cologne, Germany, May 10
Vicar Wolfgang Rothe, left, blesses the couple Christine Walter, center, and Almut Muenster, right, during a Catholic service in St Benedict s Church in Munich, Sunday, May 9. Germany s Catholic progressives are openly defying a recent Holy See pronouncement that priests cannot bless same-sex unions by offering exactly such blessings at services in about 100 different churches all over the country
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Brigitte Schmidt (R), a pastoral worker blesses a same-sex couple, Nini and Juliana Weinmeister-Bisping, in Cologne. (Andreas Rentz/Getty)
Catholic priests in Germany have defied the Vatican by offering blessings to same-sex couples in group ceremonies in more than 100 churches.
Numerous churches across the country performed mass blessings of same-sex couples in recent days after the Vatican ruled in March that such ceremonies should not go ahead because God “cannot bless sin”.
Some of the churches were decked in rainbow decorations to mark the occasion, while priests delivered empowering sermons about the need for LGBT+ inclusion in the Catholic Church. Around 20 of the services were live-streamed.