Bishop of Chur speaks of "organic marriage
The fact that marriage between same-sex lovers is discussed again and again within the church is not new. Now, however, the Bishop of Chur, Bonnemain, made himself heard.
He is among those who want to protect marriage between a man and a woman to the extent that marriages between queers should (obviously) be given a new label.
The new bishop of Chur is thus following a similar course to his predecessor, who was also - to put it mildly - skeptical of queers.
What exactly is Bishop Bonnemain calling for?
Bishop Bonnemain of Chur wants to make the boundaries between heterosexual and homosexual marriages much clearer than is currently still the case in many countries around the world.
In order to underline the relevant differences, he would first like to see a start made at the conceptual level. He told the Neue Züricher Zeitung that he would prefer people to think more about the Bible and the partnership between man and woman mentioned here. He suggests that heterosexual marriages then be called "bio marriage."
Almost appeasingly, he adds that it would not be a matter of distinguishing between the different types of sexual orientation. However, he is of the opinion that sexuality can only be fulfilling if it takes place among married people and here between a man and a woman.
What is the current situation in Switzerland?
In contrast to other countries where marriage for all has already been approved, in Switzerland the current motto is "Wait and see!". It will not be decided until the end of September whether same-sex lovers will be allowed to enter into a "covenant for life" here as well.
A referendum will then be held in which the Swiss themselves will be able to vote on the extent to which the institution of marriage should be opened up.
How the whole thing will turn out is still completely open. The question "Marriage for all or not?" is even likely to be particularly exciting in Switzerland, since it actually need not have come to the referendum mentioned above.
Why the Bishop of Chur and the Swiss can now make their crosses after all? The reason lies in the protests that arose after the parliament's decision to end the ban on homosexual marriages in Switzerland.
Due to the massive opposition by those who spoke out against the introduction of marriage for all, an official vote must now be taken. And precisely because said opposition was sufficient to postpone the decision, it would certainly be wrong to jump to conclusions and assume per se that marriage for all will be "waved through" without any problems and by a clear margin. So it remains exciting.
Many members of the church refer to the Bible
Even though there are now many members of the church who support the motto "love is love", there are many - as can be seen in the example of the bishop of Chur - who refer to the Bible in the discussions about "queer marriage". The largely general argumentation: in the Book of Christians, marriage is fixed as a partnership between a man and a woman... And this is how it should still be lived today.
In this context, there is also - at least among the largely "moderate faction" again and again talk about the love between men or women is not wrong, but just different and not on a par with heterosexual marriage.
If only because of the media attention that the referendum at the end of September is already attracting, the decision "pro marriage for all" would be a particularly important step on the way to more tolerance and equal rights - certainly also with a signal effect on other countries.
Did you notice? China censors queer content on the web.