German church assembly calls for same-sex blessings:

Germany’s Catholic bishops and lay representatives agreed at a meeting to call for the church to approve blessings of same-sex unions. The three-day gathering, part of the “Synodal Path” launched in 2019 in response to the sex-abuse crisis that has rocked the church, brings together more than 200 representatives of Catholic life in Germany. A majority of 176 participants voted in favor of same-sex blessings starting from March 2026. Crucially, the necessary two-thirds backing of the 67 German bishops was also reached, the DPA news agency reported.