German archdiocese faces backlash over sexuality education framework
St. Mary Cathedral in Hamburg, Germany. / Credit: John Samuel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
CNA Deutsch, Jun 24, 2025 / 10:31 am (CNA).
The Archdiocese of Hamburg in Germany has drawn sharp criticism from former Catholic school students and others following the unveiling of a controversial 33-page sexuality education framework that critics say breaks with Catholic teaching on gender and sexual orientation.
The document, titled “Male, Female, Diverse: Framework for Sexual Education at Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Hamburg,” is scheduled for implementation across all 15 Catholic school locations in Hamburg beginning with the 2026-2027 school year.
*Document demands acceptance*
Vicar General Father Sascha-Philipp Geißler, SAC, said during the presentation that the document would not introduce new theology but advocate for “a relationship-ethically based view of love, partnership, marriage, family, and sexuality” while promoting “acceptance of diversity regarding sexual orientations and gender identity.”
The new framework explicitly states that “recognition of different identities and sexual orientations will be actively promoted.”
Under “gender diversity,” the concept encompasses not only traditional male and female identities but also “trans identity, intersexuality, or nonbinary identity.”
Students in upper secondary school will learn about “legal regulations regarding the personal status ‘diverse’ as well as transition.”
As to why these changes are being pushed, Christopher Haep, head of the archdiocese’s education department, said that “perspectives and value systems have changed in recent decades — and therefore we must also be able to provide contemporary answers to children and young people’s questions.”
The controversial German Synodal Way has also promoted gender theory: Delegates in 2023 overwhelmingly voted for a change in Church practices based on transgender ideology.
*Alumni articulate ardent opposition*
Former students of the Catholic Sophie-Barat-Schule mounted immediate resistance to the proposal, addressing an open letter to responsible officials shortly after the framework’s announcement. The alumni argued that the concept stands “in considerable contradiction to the binding sexual teaching of the Catholic Church.”
Their criticism particularly targets the framework’s demand for “acceptance — not just tolerance — of all sexual orientations and family constellations,” which they argue fundamentally contradicts the Church’s teaching that marriage between a man and a woman represents the only legitimate form of lived sexuality.
The critics also expressed concern about passages describing early childhood sexual experiences, calling such characterizations “highly offensive.”
The Hamburg document contrasts with recent Vatican pronouncements on the topic. Pope Francis repeatedly condemned gender ideology, calling it “the ugliest danger” of our time in March 2024.
Gender ideology, which seeks to blur differences between men and women through movements such as transgenderism, “makes everything the same,” the pontiff said.
In April 2024, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued Dignitas Infinita, which condemned gender theory and emphasized that attempts to “obscure reference to the ineliminable sexual difference between man and woman are to be rejected.”
The document stressed that human life, in all its aspects, is a gift from God and should be accepted with gratitude.
In February, the Vatican’s doctrine chief delivered a pointed critique of gender ideology at a theological conference in Germany.
This story was based on a report published by CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.