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Over 100 Catholic Officials Come Out As Gay In Germany

More than 100 Catholic church officials in Germany came out as LGBT, q***r or non-binary on Monday, adding to calls for reform within the crisis-hit church.

Demands for a more liberal attitude to homos*xuality within the German church have coincided with uproar over reports of widespread child s*x abuse by Catholic clergymen in the country, including allegations of cases where former pope Benedict XVI failed to act.

The 125-strong group, which includes priests and workers in education and administration, published a statement demanding an end to the "discrimination and exclusion" they had experienced.

"I don't want to hide my s*xual identity anymore," Uwe Grau, a priest in the diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, was quoted on the group's website as saying.

"We are part of the church," added Raphaela Soden, who works in pastoral care for young adults and identifies as q***r and non-binary. "We always have been. It's time to finally make it clear that we exist and how wonderfully q***r the body of Christ is."

The statement called for "free access to all pastoral vocations", and an end to what the signatories called a "system of concealment, double standards, and dishonesty" surrounding LGBT issues.

"Entering into a non-heteros*xual relationship or marriage must never be considered a breach of loyalty and, consequently, an obstacle to employment or a reason for dismissal," they said.

The issue of homos*xuality has caused a major rift in the Catholic Church between modernisers and conservatives.

Credit: AFP