Liberal celebrity priest expresses doubts about pope’s response to sex abuse
by David Nussman • ChurchMilitant.com • March 15, 2018
DETROIT (ChurchMilitant.com) – In a recent interview with CNN about his so-called LGBT ministry, Jesuit priest Fr. James Martin expressed discontent with how the Holy Father has responded to sex abuse.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, the pro-gay Jesuit celebrity priest spoke with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. She asked Fr. Martin about the priest sex abuse scandal. She noted that traditionalists are discontent with the pope but so are liberals.
Father Martin agreed that Pope Francis has fallen short of handling sex abuse, especially regarding bishops who cover up abusive priests. He said, “You have priests who are removed immediately, but what do you with bishops? And I think he’s really struggling with that.”
Amanpour interjected with her British accent, “But why though?”
“I don’t know,” the Jesuit celebrity priest replied.
After speculating about potential reasons, Fr. Martin concluded, “But honestly, the answer is — you may not hear this from Jesuits very much, but — I don’t know.”
You have priests who are removed immediately, but what do you with bishops? And I think he’s really struggling with that. Tweet
In a bit of self-deprecating humor, his remark about Jesuits refers to how members of the men’s religious order (most of whom are either priests or in formation to be priests) tend to be professors and researchers at universities in the United States; as a result, they have the stereotype of acting like know-it-alls.
Some faithful Catholics slam Fr. Martin’s remarks about the Holy Father as ironic, given his insistence that “conservative” Catholic groups like Church Militant are enemies of the pope. When the U.S. bishops conference tried to boot a theologian for raising doubts about Amoris Laetitia, Martin bashed the faithful priest as a “dissenter.”
As a Vortex episode noted back in 2015, leftists in the Church like smearing any negative press about the current Holy Father as dissent, blasphemy, pope-bashing and heresy.
In Tuesday’s interview, Martin also bragged about his “ministry” with “LGBT Catholics” and complained about all the traditional Catholics who spread “hate” and “homophobia” on the internet.
In response to Fr. Martin sharing his video on Twitter, some Catholics challenged him for his refusal to uphold Church teachings. One such Catholic got blocked by Fr. Martin within 30 seconds of posting a reply.
Only what is true can ultimately be pastoral.Tweet
Martin’s refusal to affirm the evil of homosexual activity contradicts a Vatican document from 1986. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) wrote a letter to the bishops of the world, signed by then-Cdl. Ratzinger, which states the following: “No authentic pastoral program will include organizations in which homosexual persons associate with each other without clearly stating that homosexual activity is immoral. A truly pastoral approach will appreciate the need for homosexual persons to avoid the near occasions of sin.”
The CDF letter also warns, “But we wish to make it clear that departure from the Church’s teaching or silence about it in an effort to provide pastoral care is neither caring nor pastoral. Only what is true can ultimately be pastoral.”
“Neglect of the Church’s position,” the CDF declared, “prevents homosexual men and women from receiving the care they need and deserve.”
Father Martin’s approach to “ministry” for homosexuals flies in the face of these principles. Martin once said, for instance, that homosexuals are not bound to chastity because they have not “received” the Church’s teaching.
https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/father-james-martin-challenges-pope