Should I make this the new name for the blog? I really never intended on him being a main focus but now that he’s made it to the Vatican, I’m feeling like it’s all Martin all the time. It’s like he thought the job description was to communicate himself. I long for the “Who in the heck is Fr. James Martin, SJ?” days to return.
Here is my dose of irony for the day!
Homosexual clergy should ‘come out’ to show how ‘gay people can live chastely’: Vatican consultant
July 7, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) — The Vatican’s hand-picked pro-homosexual communications consultant Fr. James Martin said parish priests who secretly identify as homosexual should publicly “come out” to show their congregations “what a gay person is like and, incidentally, how gay people can live chastely.”
So, the first thought that popped into my head was “You first, Fr. Martin! You first!” Relatively sure I’m not alone in that guess.
Next, I’m wondering why a priest has to “come out” in order to tell people how they can live chastely. I don’t remember anyone saying “I’m straight! You too can be chaste!” In fact, I’m missing the many teachings of Fr. Martin on chastity. Did he write a book on that one? All I could find in a cursory search was a whole chapter in a book he wrote, “Building a Bridge”. Here are quotes and main takeaways, courtesy of Catholic Match (kind of disappointed in them on this one, though): https://www.catholicmatch.com/institute/2011/09/father-james-martin-6-ways-to-love-chastely/
In an interview with the National Catholic Register, Fr. Martin gave his reasoning about why he doesn’t mention chastity in his book:
Register: In your book, you stress what the Catechism says about treating “LGBT” Catholics with “respect, compassion and sensitivity,” but not the teaching about living chastely. How long does one employ “respect, compassion and sensitivity” before calling “LGBT” Catholics to chastity?
Martin: The reason I didn’t talk about chastity in my book is because Church teaching is clear on that matter, and it’s well-known in the “LGBT” community. I don’t think there’s any “LGBT” Catholic alive who doesn’t understand that teaching. By the same token, there seem to be few “LGBT” Catholics who have accepted that teaching. Theologically speaking, you could say the teaching has not been “received” by the “LGBT” community, to whom it was directed. So rather than focusing on a topic where the two groups — the institutional church and the “LGBT” community — are miles and miles apart, I preferred to try to build a bridge over areas that could be places of common ground. And as for “respect, compassion and sensitivity,” one can always employ those virtues even when one is in disagreement with the other person. If you’re a bishop who is speaking to an “LGBT” person who disagrees with Church teaching, you can still treat him or her with respect, and the “LGBT” person can do the same with the bishop. As for calling them specifically to chastity, it’s important to remember we are all called to chastity, so that is part of everyone’s call as a Christian and as a Catholic. So that virtue is not something that applies only to the “LGBT” person.
So why then do priests have to “come out” to teach anyone how to live chastely? After all, “Church teaching is clear on that matter”, and there isn’t “any “LGBT” Catholic alive who doesn’t understand that teaching”. Heck, it is so well understood that it’s not included in your oh-so-important book. Puh-lease! Make up your mind, Fr. Martin.
That said, I’m not entirely sure that he fully understands the Catholic teaching on chastity that apparently everyone else has got down. If he did, I’d think he’d use words like “self-mastery”, “sin”, etc. Maybe this will help. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03637d.htm
Before we go onto the rest of Martin’s musings, let me tell you a little story.
A long time ago, in a diocese far, far away…Actually, not so far away, but way back when we had a liberally, permissive bishop, he allowed his cronies to have a support day for “gay priests.” The obvious guys were there, but a couple priests who showed were puzzling. One of these priests was (and still is) a very faithful, humble priest. He got up and asked a very poignant question. He said, “Why do you want to label yourself a ‘gay priest’ instead of a faithful priest?” BAM! I think it was his loving way of saying, “What are you dooooiiinnngggg???” Personally, I don’t need or want to know who my priest is attracted to, unless it is Jesus, Our Lady, and the Saints. I want him to guide me in leading a life that will lead me to an everlasting life with God. I mean, is Fr. Martin saying that only priests that “come out” can help same-sex attracted folks live a chaste life? Sorry, I know same-sex attracted people who were helped to live chaste lives by priests who they will never know to whom they are attracted. It’s not about the priest. It’s about the penitent and the wonderful sacraments and teachings the Church has to offer to help them be chaste. It’s about priests knowing how to encourage people to live virtuous lives no matter what their sin. For this particular issue, priests can foster Courage and Encourage groups, and quite frankly, they can just foster a family atmosphere where there are people helping people with their daily struggles against sin.
Sadly, I think Fr. Martin just wants to foster an environment that allows him to do whatever the heck he wants to do without guilt, and he’d like to drag a whole bunch of people down with him. His goal is to foster the “We’re all just sinners, so let’s not worry about that anymore. You’re nice, I’m nice, and we’re happy in our sins!” environment. And guess what kind of things happen when people act that way…
Martin’s July 6 interview with CNN ironically comes about a week after news broke of the arrest of a Vatican gay-priest, Monsignor Luigi Capozzi, who frequently hosted cocaine-fueled homosexual orgies in a building right next to St. Peter’s Basilica.
BTW, the same clergy who are all too willing to report (or rather, shout out gleefully) when someone like Cardinal Pell is prosecuted are somehow super quiet about this little event. I mean, it’s like they’re just ignoring the story all together. Go to America Magazine, Salt and Light Media, or the National catholic Fishwrap. I just did. Search Coccopalmerio or Capozzi. Cricket! Cricket! I mean, the silence deafening!
In the interview, the Jesuit priest and editor-at-large of America magazine spoke about his new pro-homosexual book Building a Bridge. He said the Church is beginning to shift its “approach” to homosexuals, thanks to Pope Francis.
There are two reasons for this shift. One is Pope Francis. His saying ‘Who am I to judge?’ about gay people; his public meeting with Yayo Grassi, his former student who is gay, during his papal visit to the United States; his comments in Amoris Laetitia [which have been used to allow practicing homosexuals to receive Communion]. And the bishops who Pope Francis is appointing in the United States are much more LGBT friendly,” he said.
What in the @#$%&!? Seriously??? He’s still trying to float this crud to the uninformed and pass it off as truth?? Please, people! Look it up yourself. There is no different approach in the Holy Father’s comments. It’s kind of what MY peeps have been saying all along. If you are repentant, the Lord forgives! Geez! Here are the EXACT words from that part of the interview. I’m not trying to hide it like Fr. Martin is. I’ll even include the link. Does Fr. Martin do this when talking about “gay people” and “Who am I to judge?”
Ilze Scamparini:
I would like permission to ask a delicate question: another image that has been going around the world is that of Monsignor Ricca and the news about his private life. I would like to know, Your Holiness, what you intend to do about this? How are you confronting this issue and how does Your Holiness intend to confront the whole question of the gay lobby?
Pope Francis:
About Monsignor Ricca: I did what canon law calls for, that is a preliminary investigation. And from this investigation, there was nothing of what had been alleged. We did not find anything of that. This is the response. But I wish to add something else: I see that many times in the Church, over and above this case, but including this case, people search for “sins from youth”, for example, and then publish them. They are not crimes, right? Crimes are something different: the abuse of minors is a crime. No, sins. But if a person, whether it be a lay person, a priest or a religious sister, commits a sin and then converts, the Lord forgives, and when the Lord forgives, the Lord forgets and this is very important for our lives. When we confess our sins and we truly say, “I have sinned in this”, the Lord forgets, and so we have no right not to forget, because otherwise we would run the risk of the Lord not forgetting our sins. That is a danger. This is important: a theology of sin. Many times I think of Saint Peter. He committed one of the worst sins, that is he denied Christ, and even with this sin they made him Pope. We have to think a great deal about that. But, returning to your question more concretely. In this case, I conducted the preliminary investigation and we didn’t find anything. This is the first question. Then, you spoke about the gay lobby. So much is written about the gay lobby. I still haven’t found anyone with an identity card in the Vatican with “gay” on it. They say there are some there. I believe that when you are dealing with such a person, you must distinguish between the fact of a person being gay and the fact of someone forming a lobby, because not all lobbies are good. This one is not good. If someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him? The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this in a beautiful way, saying … wait a moment, how does it say it … it says: “no one should marginalize these people for this, they must be integrated into society”. The problem is not having this tendency, no, we must be brothers and sisters to one another, and there is this one and there is that one. The problem is in making a lobby of this tendency: a lobby of misers, a lobby of politicians, a lobby of masons, so many lobbies. For me, this is the greater problem. Thank you so much for asking this question. Many thanks.
Back to the LifeSiteNews article…
“The second thing is the increased number of LGBT Catholics who are coming out and making LGBT issues much more important for the church as a whole,” he added.
The interviewer asked Fr. Martin about his claim in his new book that there are “thousands” of homosexual clergy who have not “come out,” wanting to know why they keep their sexuality secret.
“Several reasons,” replied Martin. “One, their bishops or religious superiors ask them not to come out. Two, they fear reprisals from parishioners. Three, they fear it would be divisive. Four, they are private people. Five, they are not fully aware of their sexuality. And lastly, people have mistakenly conflated homosexuality and pedophilia, and so priests don’t want to come out because they fear they’ll be labeled a pedophile.”
Again, seriously? Usually child molesters are called child molesters. Can we focus a little on #4 for a second? Yeah, many priests don’t talk about their sexual inclinations, sins, attractions, etc., because it’s simply, well, tacky and their vocation shouldn’t revolve around their sexual preference. Gag!
Fr. Martin then agreed that it would make a “difference” in the Church if more homosexual clergy “came out.”
“It would help to show Catholics in the pews what a gay person is like and, incidentally, how gay people can live chastely. The great irony is that these men and women are living out exactly what the church asks of LGBT people — chastity and celibacy — and they are not allowed to talk about it. They are doing great work under a strange cloud that should not exist,” he said.
So these “gay people” are already living chaste and celibate lives, yet we need priests to “come out” to teach them how to be chaste and celibate? Huh? Which part of the Church has a problem with “gay people” who are faithful practicing Catholics who embrace the teachings of the Church, receive the sacraments, feed the homeless, etc., etc., etc.? And, not allowed to talk about what? Their lack of sex lives? Look, we ALL struggle with sin. If you feel the need to tell me you struggle with SSA, go ahead! I’m here for you and maybe I can tell you how I work through my troubles with sin. If you want to tell me that you engage in the active homosexual lifestyle and you’re still going to stroll up to Communion, we’re probably going to have a discussion about it.
But an additional reason why homosexual priests choose not to “come out” is given by famed Canadian Catholic laicized-priest Gregory Baum.
A peritus or expert at the Second Vatican Council, Baum wrote in his memoirs that he “did not profess my own homosexuality in public because such an act of honesty would have reduced my influence as a critical theologian.” While Baum kept his life of homosexual debauchery private, he managed to exert his influence over Canada’s bishops so that they dissented from the Church’s 1968 teaching in Humanae Vitae against contraception.
The interviewer did not ask Fr. Martin if he was himself homosexual.
Martin’s claim that priests don’t want to “come out” because of fear they will be labeled an abuser is not unfounded.
Research indicates that the abuse scandal within the Catholic Church primarily consisted of the homosexual abuse of males. A 2011 study commissioned by the U.S. Bishops and conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice found that nearly 80 percent of victims who were abused by priests were post-pubescent and adolescent males. Dr. Richard Fitzgibbons, a top psychiatrist and expert in handling sexually abusive priests, said at the time that the study revealed that homosexuality was the primary driving force behind the bulk of abuse cases.
The Catholic Church only allows men into the priesthood who have “self-control and a well-integrated sexuality.” Last year, the Vatican’s Congregation for Clergy reaffirmed Catholic teaching that “those who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called ‘gay culture'” are not to be admitted to seminaries or be ordained Catholic priests.
So let me get this straight (no pun intended). The Church, run by a guy who says “Who am I to judge?”, is judging the suitability of a man to be a Catholic priest? YOU BETCHA! That is judging the reality of a situation, not their immortal soul!
There are other examples beyond Capozzi and Baum that suggest that homosexual clergy are more like Judas than John when it comes to serving Christ and the Church he founded.
Honestly, I can’t say whether that’s true or not, because there might be SSA priests we don’t know about who are simply living out their vocations as faithfully as they can. That said, the John Jay report does show a clear pattern of homosexual abuse, not pedophilia. 81% were male and something like 65-75% were postpubescent males.
For example, in 2015 a Polish priest and monsignor who worked at the Vatican for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith demanded that the Church change her sexual teachings after going public with his homosexuality and sexual relationship with another man.
Using similar language and talking points employed by Fr. Martin, Monsignor Krzystof Charamsa said, among other things, that the Church should end its “language of homophobia … and rejection of LGBT people,” that it should “speak out against … any discrimination against people based on sexual orientation,” and that it should “revise the Catechism,” specifically the language used to speak of homosexual acts as “objectively disordered.”
So, is Msgr. Charasma living that chaste life? Not quite. Sigh. Pray for him.
While news of the cocaine-fueled homosexual orgies right next to St. Peter’s is shocking, it is not altogether unexpected.
In 2012, Polish priest Fr. Dariusz Oko released a paper in which he highlighted his discovery of what he called a “huge homosexual underground in the Church.”
“I began my work as a struggle against a deadly, external threat to Christianity, but then gradually discovered,” he said, that “the enemy is not only outside the Church, but within it, as well.”
Oko said homosexual cliques of clergy, even at the highest levels, are formed by fear of exposure, lust for power, and money.
Clique is the perfect terminology. They are cliques of predators.
“They know well, however, that they may be exposed and embarrassed, so they shield one another by offering mutual support. They build informal relationships reminding [one] of a ‘clique’ or even ‘mafia,’ [and] aim at holding particularly those positions which offer power and money,” he wrote.
“When they achieve a decision-making position, they try to promote and advance mostly those whose nature is similar to theirs, or at least who are known to be too weak to oppose them. This way, leading positions in the Church may be held by people suffering from deep internal wounds,” he added.
Exactly! They are promoting and advancing the lie that the Church will change her teachings.
Oko said that once homosexual clergy achieve a “dominating position” in the Church’s hierarchy, the become a “backroom elite” with “tremendous power in deciding about important nominations and the whole life of the Church.”
I think he’s completely and utterly correct, and we’re seeing it now.
Among the rumors put forward at the time of Pope Benedict’s decision to resign in 2013 was the revelation of the existence of an entrenched “gay network” that orchestrated “sexual encounters” and shady financial machinations within the Vatican. The Pope reportedly decided to resign the day he received a 300-page dossier compiled by three cardinals detailing the workings and sexual activities of a network of homosexual curial officials.
Well, I don’t deal with conspiracy theories. From what I understand from people who have personal relationships with him, this is not the case, although I’d hardly blame him if it were. I think, however, he took the papacy a little more seriously than that. For whatever reason, we are in the situation we are in. Sadly, the Martin/Cupich/McElroy/Kasper (and on and on and on) contingent has won some battles. Time for us to get a little more creative, if you ask me.
One Mad Mom 
I think Father Gerald Murray summed it up best when he said in his review: “The point of this book is not to suggest ways in which the Church, in fidelity to the teaching of Christ, can improve her outreach to those persons who feel attracted to commit the sin of sodomy in the hope that they will reject this wrongful tendency and embrace chastity.”
http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/father-james-martin-proposes-an-alternate-catechism
My take is that the whole point is to win acceptance of homosexual behavior by the Church, and, that being the case, he should be honest enough to come out and say it.
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A priest need not “come out” for people to know he’s a homosexual.
One I am thinking of was probably celebate…I have no reason to think he was not. But his childish pitting of group against group in the parish, his petulant impatience, his telling of iffy jokes during the homily, his bullying of certain people I knew to be devout, irritated me so much! Even though he wore a cassock, he was just too, too gay.
He was replaced by another cassock wearing priest who was humble, tireless in giving to his flock and very traditional. He spoke of the Catholic teachings on continuance and chastity for all stations of life. This one irritated the ones who just loved the first one.
I think that’s a big problem for today’s church.
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One would like to think that if a Pope were to be handed a 300-page report on unchaste clerics in the Vatican, there would be laicizations all around and one-way tickets out of Rome, rather than the resignation of the Pope.
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