OSNABRUK, GERMANY — The vice president of the German bishops’ conference has urged a debate on whether Catholic clergy should bless same-sex unions.

“I’m concerned with fundamental questions of how we deal with each other; although ‘marriage for all’ differs clearly from the church’s concept of marriage, it’s now a political reality,” said Bishop Franz-Josef Bode of Osnabruck.

“We have to ask ourselves how we’re encountering those who form such relationships and are also involved in the church, how we’re accompanying them pastorally and liturgically.”

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