Koch visits LGBT refugees

After visiting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender refugees at a specially designated centre in Berlin, Archbishop Heiner Koch said it was vital to sensitise the Church to the problems they face, writes Christa Pongratz-Lippitt.

The Archbishop of Berlin met Syrians who had been persecuted in their homeland on account of their sexual orientation and was “shattered” to hear that this persecution had continued in Germany, he told domradio.de. Their fellow refugees had “treated them like scum”, he said. Meanwhile, three young immigrants from North Africa who attempted to stone two transsexuals in Dortmund have been arrested.