“This [anti-LGBTQ+ and patriarchal] view of humanity has nothing to do with the Christian faith, but rather with power interests. Anyone who still defends it today betrays their own message,” said Bishop Ludger Schepers, auxiliary of the Essen diocese.
Schepers, who is also the queer affairs officer of the German Bishops’ Conference, said that the Catholic Church needs to take a clear and defined stance by calling for there zero tolerance for discrimination and that returning to gender stereotypes is a “dead end.”
“The diversity of human identities – whether homo-, trans-, or intersex – is not a modern construct, but part of God’s plan of creation,” Schepers continued. “Those who exclude people based on their identity are not acting in the name of faith, but in the service of an ideology that has nothing in common with Christianity.”
That ideology, Schepers said, refers to patriarchal structures that reinforce traditional gender roles rooted in political motivation and contradict the foundations of the Christian faith. Schepers made these comments in an interview with Katholisch.de.
Schepers acknowledged that current diocesan projects are important but do not do enough in regard to equal representation. He is calling for equality to be more visible throughout the Catholic Church urging programs to include women, men and members of the LGBTQ+ community, and emphasizing the need for a pastoral approach that takes all genders seriously.
Schepers is no stranger to making bold advocacy.
In 2025 alone, Bondings 2.0 reported on a number of statements from Schepers.
In October 2025 he condemned a group of bishops who opposed the LGBTQ+ Jubilee pilgrimage in Rome.
Two months prior, he and Bishop Heinrich Timmerevers of Dresden, criticized the Church’s position on gender identity and sexual orientation as ignoring scientific evidence of human development. He has also taken aim at individuals within the Catholic Church such as German Cardinal Gerhard Müller who – following the death of Pope Francis – called for Francis’ unnamed successor to stand up to ideological lobbies including the “gay lobby”.
He’s even taken aim at political leaders like President Trump and his anti-LGBTQ policies saying that an attack on the rights of queer people is an attack on all people.
He has also worked to expand and improve queer pastoral care in Munich-Freising, attended and endorsed blessings through the #LoveWins campaign, and backed the #OutInChurch movement supporting LGBTQ+ workers in the Catholic Church.
“Our church needs more leaders like Bishop Schepers!” said Francis DeBernardo, Executive Director of New Ways Ministry.
“And why doesn’t every bishops’ conference have a liaison and advocate for the LGBTQ+ community?”