Germany’s foreign minister Heiko Maas Ahead of an audience with Pope Francis last Wednesday, Germany’s foreign minister welcomed a day of same-sex blessings held in defiance of the Vatican.
Speaking before he met with the Pope on May 12, Heiko Maas backed the blessing ceremonies held in around 80 German cities on Monday in protest at the Vatican’s “no” to same-sex blessings.
“At least I see that there is a great deal of openness in parts of the Catholic Church to social developments that one cannot ignore,” he said, according to the newspaper Die Welt.
“I very much welcome the fact that these discussions are being initiated again and conducted in more depth.”
Talking to reporters after his private audience with the Pope,Mr Maas said that the two men discussed the coronavirus pandemic, the future of Europe, violence in Jerusalem, Latin America, and the clerical abuse crisis.
The 54-year-old member of Germany’s Social Democratic Party is a baptised Catholic who was an altar server in his youth.
German media reported that he was the first German foreign minister in almost 20 years to secure a private papal audience.
The audience took place just two days after a nationwide protest May 10 against the Vatican’s declaration that the Church does not have the power to bless same-sex unions.