HAMBURG, Germany (LifeSiteNews) — A pro-LGBT sex-education program is set to take effect August 20 in 15 Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Hamburg, Germany, despite a canonical complaint against Archbishop Stefan Heße and a direct appeal to Pope Leo XIV that the Holy See has left unanswered.

Hundreds of Catholic parents in the Archdiocese of Hamburg are opposing a sex-education program approved under Archbishop Stefan Heße that promotes “a new understanding of sexuality, gender identity, marriage, family and human relationships, and contradicts Catholic teaching as well as the educational mandate of parents,” according to the group.

After sending a petition-letter to Pope Leo XIV through the apostolic nuncio in Germany listing the most controversial parts of the program, the “Parents’ Network for Child Protection and Prevention” filed a canonical complaint against Heße with the Dicastery for Bishops. The Holy See has so far remained silent while the program is set to come into force on August 20 in 15 Catholic schools.

The families asked the Pope to intervene and “stop this initiative,” saying they needed help to “protect the faith and purity of our children.”

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After two fruitless meetings with the archdiocese in December 2025 and February 2026, the parents decided to appeal directly to Leo XIV. On February 27, the parents’ network wrote to the then-nuncio in Germany, Archbishop Nikola Eterović, and to the president of the German Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Heiner Wilmer, to inform them of what they had already communicated to Heße on February 25 – namely, not only that the proposed document “contradicts the teaching of the Church, but … our children are seriously harmed by it.”

“Unfortunately, it was made clear to us in the second meeting that there is no real willingness to change the problematic points of the framework concept,” the parents wrote.

According to Italian news website La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, the parents’ network decided to deliver a letter to the Pope through the same apostolic nunciature. The outlet reports that the parents tried to leverage the fact that Heße is the bishop responsible for the migration dossier within the German Bishops’ Conference. For this reason, in their letter they stressed in particular that, faced with this new school program, “migrants no longer feel the Catholic Church of this country to be their home.”

According to the same source, in June 2026, the parents decided to take a further step by filing a canonical complaint against their bishop with the Dicastery for Bishops. However, to this day no Vatican authority has taken action to stop this school program, which is at odds with Catholic doctrine.

Even Dignitas infinita – one of the key documents of Pope Francis’ magisterium – “denounced” gender theory “as contrary to human dignity … since it cancels differences in its claim to make everyone equal.”

As of today, there has been no response from either Pope Leo XIV, the Dicastery for Bishops, or its Prefect Filippo Iannone. Meanwhile, the program is set to officially take effect on August 20.

The parents’ initiative is challenging the program, entitled “Male, female, diverse: Concept framework for sex education at Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Hamburg.” The guidelines are binding for Catholic schools in the archdiocese and include material addressing sexual and gender identity, homosexuality, and contraception.

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The parents argue that the framework encourages the “early sexualization” of children and does not adequately protect parents’ rights concerning their children’s participation in such instruction.

The parents’ network initially emerged after an informational meeting attended by about 80 people and has since grown to more than 200 members, including parents, educators, doctors, and lawyers.

The dispute also concerns the way the framework was introduced. The controversial document was implemented in June 2025 by vicar general Father Sascha-Philipp Geißler, SAC, under Heße. According to the parents, families were not adequately informed beforehand about the framework’s objectives, content, format, or teaching materials.

The parents also maintain that the schools are violating the Archdiocese of Hamburg’s own school law. According to lawyers consulted by the network, Section 20(3) requires parents to be informed before implementation about the aims, content, and format of sex education and the materials used.

The dispute comes against the wider background of Heße’s controversial history in the German Church. In March 2021, he offered his resignation as Archbishop of Hamburg after acknowledging “personal procedural errors” concerning his handling of abuse cases while he served as vicar general of the Archdiocese of Cologne. Pope Francis rejected the resignation in September 2021, and Heße remained in his leadership position over the Archdiocese of Hamburg.

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