Faced with opposition from the Vatican, prominent Catholics opt for disobedience
‘I was appalled,’ said the former president of Ireland, Mary McAleese, ‘appalled by the very idea a Vatican document would say a gay couple is not capable of either receiving or expressing God’s grace.’ Visitors admire the Sistine Chapel inside the Vatican Museums on the occasion of the museum s reopening, in Rome, May 3, 2021. The Vatican Museums reopened to visitors after a shutdown for COVID-19 containment measures. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
May 12, 2021
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Over the past week, Catholic priests all over Germany have been openly defying the Vatican by blessing same-sex couples. As the Vatican struggles to answer the demands for representation and inclusivity by some factions in the church, a growing number of Catholic faithful opt for disobedience as a last resort.