"It's people like you and me.

And there are many.” They are in the service of the Catholic Church.

But this church rejects their way of life.

The people involved are gay, lesbian or trans people.

They want to remain part of the church - as God created it.

Michael Hanfeld

responsible editor for feuilleton online and "media".

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This is "the biggest coming out in history," says the documentary by Hajo Seppelt, Katharina Kühn, Marc Rosenthal and Peter Wozny, which is showing the first tonight.

Hajo Seppelt has been working on the subject for ten years.

More than a hundred people now dare to go public.

They tell of self-doubt, a lifelong game of hide-and-seek, rejection and exclusion, but also of sympathy and support.

They are priests, religious, community officers, diocese employees, religious teachers, kindergarten teachers and social workers - people who make up the church, who work in pastoral care, education and care or, as the film says, "keep our society going".

You risk a lot

They risk a lot with their self-confidence.

They risk being disfellowshipped and unable to serve their calling.

In dealing with them, the official Catholic Church, which is currently facing moral bankruptcy in the face of the abuse scandal, is sometimes merciless, as the example of a deanery officer shows.

She entered into a registered civil partnership with a woman.

Two weeks before the birth of her second child, she was summoned by the diocese and given the choice of severing her private ties or losing her job.

She signed a termination agreement.

The Archdiocese of Paderborn, asked for a statement by the filmmakers, did not want to comment.

"I want to belong"

The Jesuit Father Ralf Klein, Superior of the community in St. Blasien, describes what it means to be a Catholic priest and not heterosexual. He was reported to Rome by a confrere. It was about “annihilation”, as Father Klein says. But because of such people he does not throw his life away. "I want to continue to belong, I will not be pushed out." When he revealed himself at a community meeting in front of hundreds, he held his breath. And then came – huge applause, encouragement from believers, hugs.

Father Klein is celibate.

He has no sexual relations.

In this respect, his orientation should not even play a role in the eyes of those who cling to the few biblical passages in which the non-heterosexual sex act is condemned.

There is no talk of love and partnership and the nature of man created by God.

It was only later that the church's ethics came to terms with the supposed message of Jesus.

The register of sins includes not only homosexuality, but also extramarital sex, contraception, and masturbation.