German Bishop Speaks Out Against Turkey’s LGBTQ+ Arrests

A German bishop who has spoken powerfully in support of LGBTQ+ people in his home country is now speaking out to protect LGBTQ+ people in Turkey.

Bishop Ludwig Schepers, an auxiliary bishop of Essen and the German Bishops Conference’s liaison with the LGBTQ+ community, told the country’s Catholic News Agency (KNA) that he is concerned about the Turkey’s recent campaign of terror in which 162 gay people were arrested, compounding the fear under which they regularly live:

“When people fear for their safety and freedom simply because they are who they are and love whom they love, then that affects the entire society.”

Schepers emphasized the non-negotiable Catholic teaching that basic human rights must be applied to everyone, including LGBTQ+ people:

“They apply to every human being, everywhere and without exception, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Every creature of God possesses an inviolable dignity that must be protected.”

He also expressed his support for all those in Turkey who speak out against human rights violations.

Schepers pledged to to stand n solidarity with the queer people in Turkey, and not just stand byin the silence. He wants to help promote hope for a life in safety, dignity, and freedom for them – “especially when repression threatens to stifle it.”

Bishop Schepers has been one of the strongest and most consistently outspoken bishops in the church of LGBTQ+ people. 

The fact that he has the support of the nation’s bishops’ conference is even more hopeful. 

Just within the last twelve months, he has:

• Spoken out against the violent attack on a Berlin Pride event, calling on churches to build communities of care for LGBTQ+ people;

• Criticized patriarchal structures in the church which cause oppression for LGBTQ+ people, and saying that LGBTQ+ people must be accepted in all sectors of the church;

• Publicly chastised four bishops who said that 2025’s LGBTQ+ Jubilee Pilgrimage desecrated St. Peter’s Basilica;

• Strongly denounced what he sees as the Catholic Church’s very negative approach to LGBTQ+ people, saying all must respect God’s creation which is composed of  “male, female, and everything in between, what we don’t yet know, what new discoveries reveal.”

(To read more about Bishop Scheper’s many other statements in support of LGBTQ+ people, click here.

It is not hard to see how authentically Catholic Bishop Schepers’ statement concerning Turkey are.  

What is hard to accept is why more Catholic bishops and church leaders do not speak out against such repression.