125 German priests and lay employees “came out” and demanded that the Church do away with “outdated statements of Church doctrine.”

“The #OutInChurch initiative demands … to change the church’s labor law in such a way that a life in accordance with one’s own sexual orientation and gender identity, also in a partnership or civil marriage, does not lead to exclusion from tasks and offices nor to dismissal,” the group said in a statement.

Bishop Helmut Dieser of Aachen praised the initiative: “I would like to welcome this on behalf of the German Bishops’ Conference as a sign that we are working to ensure that such a climate of freedom from fear must prevail and arise in our Church.”