Is the Catholic Church pinkwashing?
Actually, this is a success: The documentary "How God Created Us" was able to win a new prize: The Catholic Media Award. What astonishes some, disturbs others all the more.
The #OutInChurch initiative in particular is now accusing those responsible for the award of pinkwashing. In addition, it is an image campaign that is being carried out "on the backs of queer people.
Initiative calls for concrete action
According to the #OutInChurch initiative, it is above all the bishops' lack of "concrete action" that bothers them. Therefore, the awarding of the prize is only an image campaign or pinkwashing.
The latter is not a new neologism. Even many companies that do not otherwise support the community but do, for example, launch their products in rainbow colors for Pride Month are repeatedly accused of simply wanting to "swim along on a wave. The solidarity for the scene often does not seem credible for many against the background that there is a lack of further support on different levels.
And it is precisely these accusations that the German Bishops' Conference now has to deal with. After all, it has been shown time and again in the past that queers have a generally "difficult standing" within the Catholic Church.
What is "As God and Created" about?
How God Created Us" is a documentary that lasts about an hour. In it, more than 120 employees come out as queer. The special thing about it: They have all placed their professional activities at the service of the Catholic Church. In this way, they show in an impressive way that queerness and faith do not have to be mutually exclusive. The documentary was then followed by the #OutInChurch campaign, which set itself the task of ensuring more tolerance within the faith community.
The jury, which ultimately decided to award the documentary, was also very moved by its content. The film was "deeply touching" and "shocking" and would shake up. It had led to a lot of discussion in the ranks of the church recently as well. Among other things, also about topics that had been "unthinkable" in the past.
What does #OutInCurch accuse the bishops of?
One of the main criticisms of the #OutInChurch initiative is that the bishops have been inactive so far. Or in other words, the bishops are still not doing enough to ensure that queer people are not discriminated against in the Catholic Church. In the documentary, demands are made, none of which have been fulfilled since its publication.
Many bishops would even refuse to speak with #OutInChurch leaders.
The initiative calls on the bishops to make changes at the next meeting of the Permanent Council with regard to Catholic labor law and the basic order of church service. In this way, it should be ensured that queer people are no longer discriminated against within the Catholic Church in the future. After all, great suffering is associated with this, among other things.
Last but not least, those responsible for the initiative also draw a bow to the head of the church. The pope, too, must of course be involved in the corresponding changes. Thus, according to #OutInChurch, the bishops should work to make a change in the catechism. One of the most important areas: The current guidelines on sexual morality within the Church.
Despite all the criticism, the fact that the documentary "How God Created Us" managed to get another award, of course, should not take a back seat. And who knows? Perhaps the fact that the prize was awarded by the German Bishops' Conference has also ensured that even more people become aware of the film?
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