Saint Elizabeth Catholic Church of the diocese of Richmond in Virginia recently announced on its website that the diocesan Office of Social Ministries and Respect Life has invited homosexualist James Martin, S.J., to host a Zoom conference on his book Building a Bridge.
The announcement says:
Building Bridges: Reaching Out to LGBT Catholics — Wednesday, Feb. 23
The Office of Social Ministries and Respect Life is excited to host Fr. James Martin as he discusses the importance of reaching out to LGBT Catholics. Father Martin is a Jesuit priest, author and editor at large at America. Registration is required prior to this event. You can register online by clicking here: http://bit.ly/BuildingBridgesRichmond
James Martin’s work to promote homosexual and transgender “inclusion” in the Catholic Church is well-known. However, the diocese of Richmond needs to be informed of a litany of scandalous things Martin has said over the years — and asked to disinvite Martin from speaking.
Call to Action
As such, we are asking you to copy and paste the following message and email it to:
Bishop Barry Knestout: bishop@richmonddiocese.org
Monsignor R. Francis Muench, J.C.L., chancellor: fmuench@richmonddiocese.org
Very Rev. Michael Boehling, vicar general and moderator of the curia: mboehling@richmonddiocese.org
Rachael Laustrup, director of the Office of Social Ministries & Respect Life: rlaustrup@richmonddiocese.org
Deborah M. Cox, director of communications: dcox@richmonddiocese.org
Dear Bp. Knestout:
Your Excellency, I am deeply troubled to learn that Fr. James Martin, S.J., has been invited to speak in a Zoom conference on behalf of the diocese of Richmond. Father Martin is well-known for his LGBTQ advocacy and, despite the fact that he routinely claims that he is not advocating sin or homosexual behavior, his public comments prove otherwise.
But that’s not all. Father Martin has also posted sacrilegious and blasphemous images of the Blessed Virgin Mary, publicly questioned the judgment of Holy Scripture on the sinfulness of homosexual activity, advocated for the placement of children in the homes of homosexual couples for adoption, endorsed the “blessing” of same-sex “marriages” and even advocated for “trans” students to be able to use whatever bathroom they wish and to be called by the gender pronouns of their choosing.
I’m providing the proof of all of this in the bottom portion of this message — so that you can see for yourself how dangerous to the Faith and to the faithful James Martin truly is. Please, Your Excellency, for the sake of the souls entrusted to you in this diocese — please do not allow James Martin to speak. I am asking you to cancel James Martin’s presentation.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
(Your Name)
Proof of James Martin, S.J.’s Assaults on Catholic Teaching
Blasphemies Against Our Lady
On Dec. 21 of this past year, James Martin posted this mockery of Our Lady, depicting her as a communist revolutionary raising the clenched fist of solidarity, wearing combat boots and trampling on a human skull.
On Dec. 12, 2017, James Martin promoted an image of Our Lady dressed immodestly, carrying a snake in her hand and trampling on an angel. According to the artist’s wiki page, she “depicted herself clutching a snake while stepping on an angel, a symbol of the patriarchy.”
Directly Questioned the Inerrancy of Scripture
On Oct. 23, 2019, James Martin openly questioned the inerrancy of Holy Scripture by quoting the following statement from an article: “Where the Bible mentions [same-sex sexual] behavior at all, it clearly condemns it. I freely grant that. The issue is precisely whether the biblical judgment is correct. The Bible sanctioned slavery as well and nowhere attacked it as unjust.”
Sacrilegiously Calls the Holy Spirit “She”
In September 2017, while complaining about organizations and ministries advancing authentic Catholic teaching, James Martin misgendered God by referring to the Holy Spirit as “She.”
Refers to Men “Married” to Other Men as “Husbands”
James Martin said:
I continually come back to my friend Mark and his husband. And I continually say — and maybe this is a failure of mine to imagine someone else, maybe it’s arrogant — but I have a hard time imagining how even the most traditionalist, homophobic, close-minded Catholic cannot look at my friend and say, “That is a loving act. And that is a form of love that I don’t understand, but that I have to reverence.”
James Martin, answering a man’s question on homosexual kissing at Mass, said, “I hope in 10 years you will be able to kiss your partner [in church] or, you know, soon to be your husband.”
Endorses Homosexual Adoption of Children
In November 2020, James Martin conflated homosexuality with race and religion as he suggested Catholic adoption agencies should be providing children to homosexual couples, saying, “Religious liberty should not be used as a cover for homophobia.”
Supports Transgender Ideology Among Students and Same-Sex “Married” Teachers in Catholic Schools
In June 2020, James Martin decried the archdiocese of Indianapolis’ decision to strip a local Catholic high school of its “Catholic” affiliation because the administration refused to fire a teacher who had entered into a same-sex “marriage.” Regarding the decision, Martin said that he “stood with” LGBT colleagues against what he called “the relentless targeting of LGBT people.”
In February of 2017, James Martin called for self-described transgender students to be able to use the bathroom of their choice, which would allow boys to enter girls’ bathrooms, saying, “They should be able to use whatever bathrooms they choose. It’s [sic] doesn’t hurt anybody.”
He followed that up by describing women using men’s bathrooms out of necessity — and conflated that with choice, asking, “Who is harmed by a #trans student using a bathroom?”
He followed that up by claiming that denying a boy from entering into a girl’s bathroom is an “affront to their dignity as human beings.”
In August 2021, James Martin suggested Catholic schools should acknowledge students’ “gender identity” by referring to them by their “preferred pronouns,” regardless of their biological reality.
Support for Homosexual Activity and “Civil Union Laws”
In May of 2019, Martin called Kenya’s criminalization of homosexual activity “unconscionable,” saying, “The Church should support the decriminalization of same-sex relations.”
In October 2020, James Martin celebrated Pope Francis’ call to create same-sex “civil union laws,” calling it “a major step forward in the Church’s support for LGBTQ people.”
Originally published by the Lepanto Institute.
