The surreal case of the German Church: the bishops chase the rainbow flag while the State opposes it. Reversed roles, meanwhile criticism from Leo XIV arrives.

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The affair of the rainbow flag at the German Bundestag has taken a surreal turn.

As we recounted last July, German institutions decided for the first time not to fly the flag on the Parliament façade on the occasion of Berlin Pride.

«The Bundestag is not a circus», thundered Chancellor Friedrich Merz, enraging activists.

Naturally it became a national case that the German press continues to talk about even today.

 

The German bishops and the rainbow flag

One of the recent aftershocks involved a group from Essen that wanted to raise a rainbow flag during the celebration of the St. Michael parish. A heated argument ensued and two people were injured.

Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck, intervened rightly condemning the scuffle but sided with the rainbow group, emphasizing the message conveyed by the flag, namely that every human being is willed by God «without distinctions, without preconditions and without conditions».

A few days later the president of the German bishops, Georg Bätzing, publicly criticized the president of the Bundestag, Julia Klöckner, for not allowing the rainbow flag to fly on the Parliament façade.

«I think it is a pity that it was rejected this year», he said in an interview with “Stern”. «It would have been a good sign».

The German bishop alludes to the attempt by the German Synod to want to modify the Catechism of the Catholic Church when it speaks of homosexual acts as «intrinsically disordered» and that «in no case can they be approved». Batzing added that «in the Synodal Path we stated that we want to change this position».

Unaware of the correlation, the prelate went on to speak about the crisis of the German Church, the rise in defections and the scarcity of priests. We recently observed that Germany’s most “progressive” diocese, that of Fulda, was left without a single seminarian.

 

The reprimand from Leo XIV

Batzing did not yet imagine that shortly thereafter Leo XIV would use the German Church itself as a negative example on this issue.

Interviewed by La Crux, Pope Prevost spoke of initiatives in the «Nord Europe» — which everyone interpreted as a reference to Germany — where «rites of blessing for “people who love each other”» take place but «which goes specifically against the document approved by Pope Francis», referring to “Fiducia Supplicans”.

Feeling called out, Mons. Batzing immediately responded assuring that there is no «”episcopal disobedience” on the part of the German bishops».

 

The Bundestag against the rainbow flag

The latest act of this dispute came on September 25 when the president of the Bundestag, Julia Klöckner, rejected Bishop Georg Bätzing’s criticisms about the handling of the rainbow flag at the Bundestag.

«The bishop’s regret is surprisingly selective», Klockner said to the weekly “Die Zeit”. «Has the Vatican or any diocese ever raised a rainbow flag at Pride?».

The president then reflected on the difficult situation of churches but also underlined her personal connection to the religious community: «Why do I attend church and support it financially? Because it offers guidance, promotes community, solidarity and goes beyond everyday life and strengthens my faith in God».

As a Christian, she believes «in God and in the message of charity». This has sociopolitical relevance, but «not automatically political». The church, Klockner concluded, can do much more than politics and is much more than an NGO or a political party.

 

German Church, reversed roles

Germany is a laboratory case.

It is as if positions there have been reversed: those who on paper represent the State and all citizens decline rainbow symbols in the name of institutional decorum and awareness of the ambiguous message they convey.

Those who instead represent the Church and therefore Christian anthropology become spokespeople for ambiguous and worldly demands, opposing the magisterium of the Church itself.