Father James Martin, S.J. is expected to accept an award for his embrace of homosexuality.
On October 30, the "Catholic" pro-sodomy organization New Ways Ministry will present
Fr. Martin with the Bridge Building award "in recognition of his
ministry of communication which has helped to expand the dialogue on
LGBT issues in the Catholic Church."
Father
Martin is the Editor-at-Large of the often dissident Jesuit magazine
"America," and has a constant media presence on Facebook and Twitter.
In 2015 he authored a post
on Facebook saying, "No issue brings out so much hatred from so many
Catholics as homosexuality. Even after over 25 years as a Jesuit, the
level of hatred around homosexuality is nearly unbelievable to me,
especially when I think of all of the wonderful LGBT friends I have."
He continued, " Love means: getting to know LGBT men and
women, spending time with them, listening to them, being challenged by
them, hoping the best for them, and wanting them to be a part of your
lives, every bit as much as straight friends are part of your lives."
He commented
on the Church's teaching that homosexual acts are objectively
disordered, saying, "[F]or most LGBT people it is deeply offensive.
Imagine being told that a deep part of you, the part that feels love, is
disordered."
New Ways Ministry maintains it is a Catholic group
but has been critical of Church teaching on homosexuality and the ban on
female priestly ordination.
The group was condemned by Cdl. Francis
George of the archdiocese of Chicago, who said it "only confuses the
faithful regarding the authentic teaching and ministry of the Church
with respect to persons with a homosexual inclination."
"No one should be misled by the claim that New Ways
Ministry provides an authentic interpretation of Catholic teaching and
an authentic Catholic pastoral practice," Cdl. George had said.
"I
wish to make it clear that," he continued, "like other groups that
claim to be Catholic but deny central aspects of Church teaching, New
Ways Ministry has no approval or recognition from the Catholic Church
and that they cannot speak on behalf of the Catholic faithful in the
United States."
Others
who had received the award include Fr. Charles Curran and John J.
McNeil. Curran was told by the Vatican in the late 1980s to stop
teaching theology because of his dissent from Catholic doctrine. McNeill
was a homosexual Jesuit who pioneered so-called "queer theology" and was eventually expelled from the order.
New
Ways Ministry is one of several organizations that calls itself
Catholic while openly advocating positions opposed to Church teaching.
The Arcus Foundation — founded by billionaire Jon Stryker — is a major
funder of LGBT activist groups and funds New Ways Ministry and Catholics for Choice, among others.