(LifeSiteNews) — Notorious LGBT activist Father James Martin, S.J., has joined with a fellow prominent Jesuit and Synod on Synodality member to claim that “we cannot deny the reality of same-sex relationships as integral to the meaning of the church as the People of God.”
“Both heterosexual and homosexual people embody the truth of their dignity as imago Dei in their sexuality,” Martin and Fr. Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator, S.J., scandalously wrote in an article published on Martin’s LGBT activist website Outreach.
JUST IN: @JamesMartinSJ & Fr. Orobator, SJ write in @OutrchCatholic re Synod that “we cannot deny the reality of same-sex relationships as integral to the meaning of the church as the People of God.”
LGBT listening should be part of “ecclesial ministries of the community.” pic.twitter.com/egc4T41BbL— Michael Haynes 🇻🇦 (@MLJHaynes) January 9, 2024
Both Martin and Orobator were part of the 2023 session of the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican and will therefore be partaking in the October 2024 session. Their article drew attention to the Synod’s 2023 synthesis report, which criticized the Church’s “anthropological categories” but was slated by pro-LGBT Synod members for not being as explicit in its LGBT focus as previous Synod texts.
The two Jesuits argued that the “avalanche of reactions, both positive and negative,” to Fiducia Supplicans’ proposal of same-sex “blessings” “lends credence to the priority and urgency of focusing on the particular issue of identity and sexuality.”
They cited the image used about the Church in the Synod literature – “an enlarged tent that welcomes all into the community” – saying that “any attitude of rejection and aggression undermines the nature of the church as the family of God.”
This condemnation of “rejection” they applied to the Church by making a call for inclusion of LGBT ideology and lifestyle. “Both heterosexual and homosexual people embody the truth of their dignity as imago Dei in their sexuality,” wrote the priests.
The teaching of the church is clear: all people, no matter their sexuality, are loved equally by God. A synodal church listens to their joys and hopes, pain and anguish, in equal measure. Listening is a factor of a recognition of the dignity of all women and men, both heterosexual and homosexual.
Such “listening” is “the antithesis of condemnation and rejection on account of a person’s sexual orientation,” continued the priests, while avoiding mentioning the Church’s teaching regarding same-sex attraction.
The Church teaches that the homosexual inclination is a “an objective disorder” and “a disordered sexual inclination which is essentially self-indulgent.”
However, the two Jesuits claimed that same-sex “relationships” are “integral to the meaning of the church as the People of God”:
We may quarrel over how to interpret Scripture or how to understand the church’s teaching on human sexuality, but we cannot deny the reality of same-sex relationships as integral to the meaning of the church as the People of God. In other words, there is no part of the world where we can honestly claim that this reality does not present a real pastoral challenge.
Carefully avoiding the Catechism’s condemnation of homosexual activity and stipulation of the universal call to chastity, particularly for those suffering from same-sex attraction, the priests instead highlighted a passage from the Catechism calling for those with such tendencies to be “accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity.”
“The church is home to women and men who desire to live the truth of the Gospel and experience the love of God as heterosexual and homosexual,” they wrote without qualification, falsely suggesting that a homosexual “identity” is not disordered. “When our church opts to become a safe space or a family where all are heard with the ‘respect, compassion and sensitivity’ called for by the Catechism (2358), and no one is judged with disdain, we stand on the verge of becoming a truly synodal church.”
The Jesuits argued that listening should be a new priority for the Church, attesting that “on the issue of sexuality and identity, we need to adopt Jesus’ attitude of deep listening, not only to the point of view of people whose sexual orientation differs from ours, but also with an unconditional respect for their stories, situations and lives.”
This would practically be effected by local ecclesial leaders to “engage in dialogue, conversation and collaboration—following the pastoral practice of Pope Francis—with community organizations like Outreach, New Ways Ministry, Dignity, Fortunate Families, the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics and the many other local groups that are committed to the ministry of listening and accompaniment of women and men who feel excluded in the church on account of their sexuality and identity.”
All of the aforementioned groups named by Martin and Orobator dissent from definitive Catholic teaching on sexuality and/or promote heresy about homosexuality and gender.
READ: Fr. James Martin to host LGBTQ conference with ‘transgenderqueer Two Spirit’ doctor
With the Synod on Synodality officially focused on how to be “synodal,” the Jesuits argued that a “truly transformative” process could take place in the Church if pro-LGBT “listening ministries” were widely established and recognized “as ecclesial ministries of the community.”
Fr. Martin became perhaps the first priest to publicly confirm he would offer “blessings” of same-sex “couples,” following the December 18 publication of Fiducia Supplicans, which he then did on December 19.
While his LGBT activism is well known, Orobator has yet to gain an equivalent public notoriety. However, he was introduced to the Synod on Synodality as one of the leading theologians of the Church today. He previously served as provincial superior of the Jesuits of the Eastern Africa Province, before becoming the provincial of the entire Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar.
In contrast to the two Jesuits’ arguments of acceptance of and “listening” to LGBT ideology, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s 1975 document Persona Humana warns how “there can be no true promotion of man’s dignity unless the essential order of his nature is respected.”
A subsequent 1986 document on the pastoral care of homosexuals explicitly stated that bishops should ensure the immorality of homosexual activity is made clear: “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. The neglect of the Church’s position prevents homosexual men and women from receiving the care they need and deserve.
The CDF added how “special concern and pastoral attention should be directed toward those who have this condition, lest they be led to believe that the living out of this orientation in homosexual activity is a morally acceptable option. It is not.”