It is a week of protests against the Vatican that began on Monday, 10 May in Germany. Priests from around a hundred Catholic churches have decided to bless hundreds of same-sex couples, in open defiance of the ban on such ceremonies imposed in March by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. From Munich to Berlin, from Frankfurt to Cologne, from Aachen to Zornheim: the demonstration promoted by priests, deacons, theologians and the Catholic reform movement Maria 2.0 has involved parishes across the country, under the motto #liebegewinnt ("love wins", in English).

The blessing of same-sex couples is in open conflict with the Vatican

The act of disobedience by the German clergy against the Vatican comes exactly one week before the International Day Against Homophobia, on Monday, 17 May. And it goes against the Congregation's note, which prohibited Catholic priests from giving any form of blessing to a couple of people of the same sex, whether married or in a civil union. This is because, despite not carrying the same weight as the sacraments, a blessing is considered in practice a form of legitimisation that implies a positive judgement. The demonstration's website, however, where one can consult the list of participating parishes and the times of the masses at which a blessing can be received (following a negative test), reads: "Love is a blessing. People who love each other are blessed."

No sanctions have even been mentioned by the leaders of the German Catholic Church against the priests taking part in the initiative, also because, as Klaus Nelissen explains, one of the organisers, to the Wall Street Journal, the date of 10 May was not chosen at random: Monday is traditionally priests' day off, so "no bishop can tell them not to do it, since they are doing it in their free time."

No risk of reprisals, then, also because, as the promoters of the initiative write in a statement — which takes its name from a song by Brings, a Cologne band — "we do this under our own responsibility as pastors, who promise people at important moments in their lives the blessings that only God gives. We respect and value their love and also believe that God's blessings are upon them."

DIE ZEIT ✓ @zeitonline

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Bundesweit haben katholische #Kirchen Segnungsfeiern "für alle Liebenden" veranstaltet. Mit der Aktion setzten sich die Gemeinden über die Haltung des #Vatikans hinweg. #liebegewinnt trib.al/BCnyJZT

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The controversy over same-sex unions

The controversy over the blessing of same-sex unions has always generated great debate, which has now been going on for years and is moving in the direction of a broader reform of the German Catholic Church. The president of the German Bishops' Conference, Georg Bätzing, had launched a process in his diocese of Limburg — well before the Vatican's decision in mid-March — to explore the possibility of blessing same-sex couples, but as the protest grew he sought to distance himself from it: "I do not regard public initiatives such as those planned for 10 May as a helpful sign or a path that leads anywhere. Blessing celebrations have their own theological dignity and pastoral significance and must not become instruments of demonstrations or acts of protest."

But all eyes are on the conclusion of the two-year synod, in which the various components of German Catholics are participating and which will conclude next autumn. Above all for the reforms under discussion, which include the issue of same-sex civil unions and that of priestly celibacy and female priesthood.