“Unfortunately, there is too much institutional hypocrisy in our Church,” said Father Markus Fuhrmann, OFM, who was elected the new superior of the Franciscan Province of St. Elizabeth in Germany. The province was formed in 2021 from the merger of four German Franciscan provinces.

“I am in favor of a critical rethinking of celibacy in the priestly way of life, and I am in favor of women having access to ordained ministries,” Father Fuhrmann added.