Marx calls for church apology to gays

The Catholic Church should apologise to the gay community for the way they have been treated, German Cardinal Reinhard Marx said while attending a conference at Trinity College in Dublin.

“The history of homosexuals in our societies is very bad because we’ve done a lot to marginalise [them],” said Cardinal Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising, during his address at the Loyola Institute last week.

As a Church and society “we’ve also to say ‘sorry, sorry’”, added the cardinal, who is a member of the council of nine cardinals chosen by Pope Francis to advise him.

Cardinal Marx said that until recently, both the Church and society at large had historically been very negative about gay people, and described that attitude as “a scandal and terrible”.