The 300-member Franciscan province of Saint Elisabeth in Germany has elected as its new superior Father Markus Fuhrmann, who publicly came out as homosexual a few weeks ago.
Newsroom (16/06/2022 9:15 PM Gaudium Press) In an interview with MK-Online, the official news website of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, Fuhrmann explained why he went public with his homosexuality.
“If I am gay myself, then I want to show that I can also be part of the Church in this ministry. That’s important because it’s not supposed to be like that in the Church. Unfortunately, there is too much institutional hypocrisy in our Church,” he said.
In addition, the new Franciscan superior said that he “personally supports the efforts of the Synodal Way, I am in favour of a critical rethinking of celibacy in the priestly way of life and I am in favour of women having access to ordained ministries.”
The Synodal Way is a controversial multi-year process that began in December 2019 and involves bishops and lay people from Germany to address issues such as the exercise of power, sexual morality, the priesthood, and the role of women in the Church, issues on which they have expressed, publicly and on various occasions, positions contrary to Catholic doctrine.
Asked about the fact that his Franciscan brothers knew of his homosexuality at the time of his election, the new German superior said that “it was very good for me to know that this is very positive for the brothers.”
He added, “I get a lot of encouragement, and maybe that spark of appreciation can spread to other areas of the Church. I think that’s good.”
Regarding his future work, the new Franciscan superior in Germany told MK-Online that “a big change is imminent, and I want and must shape it together with the brothers.”
(Via CNA)
Compiled by Raju Hasmukh
