ROME — Pope Francis has penned a glowing foreword to a new book by gay rights activist Father James Martin, calling Martin “a man in love with the word of God.”
Father Martin is “firmly rooted in the Ignatian tradition,” the Pope said. write In the preface to the newly published Italian edition: Edition of Come: The Raising of Lazarus and the Promise of Jesus’ Greatest Miracle.
Pope Francis caused a stir last week by reiterating the Catholic Church’s ban on gays being admitted to seminary education, to which Father Martin responded by saying the Church would be “incalculably poorer” without gay priests.
“In my 25 years as a priest and 40 years as a Jesuit, I have known hundreds of holy, devout, celibate gay priests,” Father Martin said. I have written About X: “They were my superiors, my teachers, my confessors, my mentors, my spiritual directors, and my friends.”
“Father James Martin, author of many other books whom I know and highly respect, deserves my thanks for this new text,” the Pope writes in his preface. Father Martin has indeed written many books, the most notorious of which is a book dealing with the need for Catholics to be more tolerant of homosexuality.
In fact, his book was so controversial that several prelates felt the need to publicly correct the ideas expressed in it.
FILE / Father James Martin, a Jesuit priest and editor-in-chief of America magazine, is interviewed at the magazine’s offices in New York, Monday, May 21, 2018. Pope Francis reportedly told gay men, “God made you this way,” a remark that has resonated with the LGBT community. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
For example, Archbishop Emeritus Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia has warned Catholics that there is a “pattern of equivocation” in Father Martin’s teaching on the issue of homosexuality.
“In light of the confusion caused by his statements and activities on LGBT issues, I consider it necessary to stress that Father Martin does not speak authoritatively on behalf of the Church and to warn the faithful about some of his claims,” the archbishop wrote.
Archbishop Chaput was not the only one to express concern about the content of Father Martin’s book.
“Father Martin’s public message sows confusion among the faithful and disrupts the unity of the Church by promoting the false perception that immoral sexual conduct is permissible under God’s law,” wrote Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois. response To the essay in Chap.
“Homosexuals are certainly created and loved by God and are welcomed in the Catholic Church. But the Church’s mission towards homosexuals is the same as its mission towards all believers: to guide, encourage and support each of us in the Christian struggle for virtue, sanctification and chastity,” he said.
“Archbishop Chaput offered Catholics a salutary warning about Father James Martin,” Paprocki wrote, especially because Father Martin “encourages or fails to correct behavior that separates people from God’s love.”
“This is very scandalous in the sense that it leads people to believe that cheating is not a crime,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bishop Rick Stika of Knoxville also praised Bishop Chaput for his fraternal corrective actions and for the balanced tone of his condemnation.
On Twitter, the bishop praise He presented Archbishop Chaput with a copy of “Father Martin’s column on theological and moral errors.”
“He praised his work but challenged his moral and theological ideas. He also clearly stated that this is a big mistake,” Bishop Stika said. Said.
In 2017, Cardinal Robert Sarah, who was then head of the Vatican’s liturgy department, said: I have written Editorial The Wall Street Journal People who identify as LGBT say they want to be told the truth, especially by clergy who speak on behalf of the church, that same-sex relations are “a grave sin and harmful to the well-being of those involved.”
In his criticism, the cardinal said that Fr. Martin Book Building a bridge This is because there is a clear lack of Catholic teaching on sexual morality for homosexuals.
In her editorial, Cardinal Sarah said no one should be identified by their sexual orientation, but rather they should be first and foremost human beings and children of God.
“In its teaching on homosexuality, the Church draws a distinction between its members’ identity and their sexual desires and behavior,” Sarah wrote.
Homosexuality is “incompatible with human nature,” he wrote, adding that this truth is sadly absent from the book by Martin, who among Catholic priests is “one of the most outspoken critics of the Church’s message on sexuality.”
Those who speak on behalf of the church, he writes, “must remain faithful to the unchanging teachings of Christ, for only by living in harmony with God’s plan for creation can people find deep and lasting fulfillment.”
Cardinal Sarah maintained that the Church’s teaching on sexual morality is part of the “Gospel” of Jesus Christ and should not be hidden but rather preached in love.
Pope Francis lavished praise and honor on Father Martin, who openly advocates for gay pride demonstrations, gay families, gay priests, same-sex marriage and LGBT Catholics.
In 2021, the Pope will handwrite a personal letter In it, he thanked Father Martin for his “pastoral zeal” and his “ability to be close to people, reflecting the closeness that Jesus had and the closeness of God.”
“Our heavenly Father loves each of His children,” the letter reads. “His heart is open to each one of them. He is our Father.”
“Just as God is a father to all men and women, you are a priest to all men and women,” Francis wrote, “and I pray that you will continue to have this closeness, this compassion and this great tenderness.”
The following year, Francis publicly praised Father Martin as a “man of values.”
“We cannot fall into communication without values; we must communicate with values,” the Pope said. Said He is a member of the Vatican’s press service, which includes Martin.
“For example, here is James Martin. ‘Oh, sure, he’s working…’ But this guy is… Learning to pray… Read it, for it will teach you how to pray.”
“Someone who has values and is a communicator who also knows how to teach how to communicate with God,” he continued. “That’s what it means to be a communicator. Someone who has values and goes out and walks and takes risks and is sure that he is dedicating his life with his values, his Christian values and his human values.”
