2021, the CBC News reported that Catholic priests in Germany have been secretly blessing same-sex unions for years. In June 2021, German bishop Bertram Meier from Roman Catholic Diocese of Augsburg in Augsburg in Bavaria supported blessings for same-sex marriages. On 1 October 2021, a great majority of German Roman-Catholic bishops and laity supported at the Synodal Path in a document blessings of same-sex marriages. In February 2022, German bishop Karl-Heinz Wiesemann supported blessings for same-sex marriages. On May 11, 2022 again in more than 100 Roman-Catholic churches in Germany blessings of same-sex marriages were celebrated, for example in the Roman-Catholic cathedral in Magdeburg, and in Essen was first time a Roman-Catholic bishop with Ludger Schepers at place. On September 20, 2022, the Belgian Bishops' Conference issued a document allowing the blessing of same-sex unions, suggesting a ritual that included a prayer and a benediction for stable same-sex unions. But it stressed that it was not "what the Church understands by a sacramental marriage". Christoph Schönborn Churches with no policy on the unions The United Church of Christ has no formal rules requiring or prohibiting solemnization of wedding vows, but owing to its Congregational polity and constitution, each Local Church is "autonomous in the management of its own affairs" and has the "right to operate in the way customary to it"; it cannot be "abridge[d] or impair[ed]" by other UCC agencies, and so each congregation has the freedom to bless or prohibit any kind of marriage or relationship in whatever way they discern appropriate. Thus a congregation may choose at their discretion to solemnise same-sex marriages, to bless same-sex unions, or refuse to perform any ceremony for same-sex couples, or refuse to perform any kind of marriage for anyone. There are no available statistics on how many UCC congregations solemnize same-sex relationships, but there are documented cases where this happens and documented cases where congregations have taken stands against marriage between same-gender couples. Among Baptists, The American Baptist Churches USA allows each congregation to decide for itself. Also, "the National Baptist Convention USA Inc. does not have an "official" position on any issues with regards to homosexuality". Each congregation is autonomous in the National Baptist Convention USA Inc. Likewise, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship recognizes the autonomy of each local congregation on these issues. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) allows each congregation to decide whether to perform same-sex marriages. Literature