Marriage between husband and wife is given by God: card. Reinhard Marx firmly reiterates it. He also used a party with the married couples of his archdiocese of Munich-Freising for a political assessment of same-sex marriage that has recently been signed into law in Germany. The cardinal (who is also the president of the German Bishops Conference, Dbk) celebrated a jubilee Eucharist for hundreds of married couples, in Freising cathedral, yesterday: “Man and woman must be together” – Marx said –; laws may change, however that is the image God gave us”. During the sermon, the cardinal thanked the couples: “This God-given life has been made possible by the love of man and woman, that you have accepted and planned with your spouse”. In a marriage, there are “reconciliation, the new beginning, the shared endurance of pain and death, as well as joy together, the feasts, the birth of grandchildren”, many events that lead to a grateful attitude, Marx added. At the same time, Christians must be able to rely on God’s help, even in sickness, old age and weakness. Many couples that have been married 50 or 60 years attended the festive celebration: there were also a couple that had been joined in marriage for 74 years.