Copenhagen (Catholic news / CBA). Denmark's Catholic Bishop, Czeslaw Kozon, has approved the appointment of a church musician who lives in a registered same-sex partnership. First, the Bishop of Copenhagen had rejected the application of Ole Knudsen, and based this on the manner of the life of the organist, reported the daily newspaper "Dagblad Kristeligt" (Monday). This has, however, led to strong reactions from community members and members of the Catholic Church on the Internet and probably caused the shift in opinion, Knudsen told the newspaper. He further suggested as an explanation for the change of mind his own statement that he and his partner were living in sexual abstinence. He had told the bishop in person.Bishop Kozon himself declined to comment. He explained that it was a personnel matter. His spokesman referred to the prospective employer, the Lawrence Community in Roskilde. Its President, Svenning Ravn Jensen said Knudsen was "an able organist and choir director." He was always ready to employ him if the diocese approved. The theologian Peter Lodberg from Aarhus University commented in the newspaper that he had never heard of such an approach. It could be a reaction to the recent remarks by Pope Francis on homosexuality. Apparently in this case, it is possible to live in a same-sex partnership as a church musician, as long as this is purely platonic. The Church's Canon Lawyer, Lisbet Christoffersen, said that the decision of the bishop could also have labor reasons, after which the Catholic Church has had similar similar problems with cases in other countries. Also in Denmark, the matter would be brought before the National Committee For Equality, says Christoffersen. She referred to the dispute over an organist sacked for adultery in Germany, before the case went to the European Court of Human Rights.
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Photo: Organ - Source: Andreas Gehrmann
Taken from Catholic News Agency on 13 August, 2013.
Translated: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
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