(LifeSiteNews) – German Franciscans have elected a provincial superior who publicly revealed that he is homosexual only weeks prior.
Brother Markus Fuhrmann, referred to as the first openly homosexual Franciscan in his office, said that he has received a “lot of encouragement” regarding his open homosexuality in his position as Provincial Minister, despite the condemnation of homosexuality by Scripture and Church teaching.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church declares that “Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered,’” and that “they are contrary to the natural law.” [2357]
The language of the Catechism signals that the Church’s condemnation of homosexual behavior is an infallible teaching of the ordinary universal magisterium, Fr. Philip Bochanski, executive director of Courage International, has noted.
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In a June 10 interview with MK-Online, Fuhrmann clearly declared his opinion that Catholic Church teaching on homosexuality should change, claiming that “as this morality has been officially taught so far, it does not serve life. It must change or develop.”
Fuhrmann further explained why he “came out” as homosexual, saying that for him personally, it was a question of his own “truthfulness,” adding that he would “like to be able to make it clear who I am and what I stand for.”
“If I am gay myself, then I would like to show that I can also be part of the church in this office. This is important because it is not supposed to be the case in the church,” said Fuhrmann.
He continued, “I would like to promote seeing this as an opportunity, that we as a church are colorful, that the church is (also) queer, that this is wanted by God, that this corresponds to the diversity of creation and that is therefore quite normal.”
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Fuhrmann also noted that he endorses change regarding other binding Church teachings, framing such changes as part of the “Synodal Way,” a reference to the heterodox German Synodal Path launched in 2019, which has been repeatedly condemned by prelates as putting the German bishops at risk of schism.
“I personally stand behind the aspirations of the Synodal Way, I am in favor of a critical rethinking of celibacy in the priestly way of life and I am in favor of access for women to consecration offices,” he told MK-Online.
As Church Militant has noted, several Franciscan provinces have openly defied Church teaching on homosexuality, and the Franciscan Action Network has lamented the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s affirmation that same-sex unions cannot be blessed.