Can a vicar be gay

Question: Father Grau, was it difficult to sit in front of the camera during the OutInChurch campaign and say: I'm gay? I simply want to keep the topic present, including in the church, otherwise the whole endeavour won't be sustainable.

Some people from his parish did not react so positively to it. Two years ago, he took part in the #OutInChurch campaign. My boss, the head priest of our pastoral care unit, which includes nine parishes, has occasionally had callers who have been upset about it.

In an interview withthe year-old pastor talks about how he dealt with this and why he thinks it is right to bless same-sex couples. Some people from his parish did not react so positively to it. Grau: Yes, it was very liberating. I have often experienced in my ministry that people were unable to deal with the topic of "homosexuality and the church " and devalued it.

How did the people there react to your appearance on television on OutInChurch? But they have never contacted me personally, which I think is a shame. I'm allowed to be gay, that's a good thing and it's what God wants. In Januarythe bishops will receive a report from the CofE’s theological advisory committee on the one remaining unresolved issue – can gay vicars get married?

One Year Later Vatican

But in hindsight, I'm glad I did. Because now I can talk about it clearly and openly in my work as a pastor in the parish. Two years ago, he took part in the OutInChurch campaign. Regarding candidates for the priesthood, in December the Congregation for the Clergy, with Pope Francis’s approval, reaffirmed that men who live a homosexual lifestyle, have “deep-seated homosexual.

Grau : On the whole, it was received very positively. I learnt to look at myself with compassion. In an interview with katholisch. Existing priests who may deal with homosexual tendencies yet are committed to a life of chastity and otherwise to the Church’s teachings can certainly continue in their priestly ministry.

Question: You work in a rather rural parish. In his resignation letter he thanked Pope Francis for some of his words and gestures towards the gay community; however, he also strongly criticized the institution of the Catholic Church for being "frequently violently homophobic" and "insensitive, unfair and brutal" towards people that are gay, noting the irony that he felt there were.

The current rules state that gay clergy can only enter civil partnerships, and must remain celibate if they do - but the liberal wing is determined to overturn this. I've been committed to queer Christians for many years. Parish vicar Uwe Grau has long been committed to homosexual Christians in the church.

Perhaps also because it frightened them.

Can a gay vicar

I realised that I was gay when I was It was only at this age that I was able to admit it to myself. Later, I co-founded a regulars' table for queer Christians in Ulm. I want to help others to deal with this topic more openly - also in the church. Uwe Grau : It was a bit of a struggle for me at first.

The official position is that lay people can pretty much do as they please, though the Church ensured that it is impossible for gay couples to legally marry in a Church of England parish and local. Parish vicar Uwe Grau has long been committed to homosexual Christians in the church.

For example, I have been organising a service at Christopher Street Day in Ulm together with the regulars' table for eight years. Question: In other words, did you personally find participating in OutInChurch liberating?