malcolmf

Recently I have seen another round of posts calling Father James Martin, S.J., a heretic, often while contrasting him with Father Chad Ripperger and claiming that Father Ripperger has been “silenced.” Before we turn this into another internet battle, it is worth slowing down and looking at what has actually been said. Father Martin is a Roman Catholic Jesuit priest. In his book Building a Bridge, he says he deliberately did not attempt to settle questions of sexual morality. He was writing about how the Roman Catholic Church and LGBT people might meet one another with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. In his 2018 America article, “What Is the Official Church Teaching on Homosexuality?” he wrote plainly, “As a Catholic priest, I have also never challenged those teachings, nor will I.” That same article lays out the Roman Catholic Catechism’s teaching that same-sex acts are sinful and that persons with same-sex attraction are called to celibacy. More recently, in his October 7 Outreach article, “What Does the Catholic Church Teach about LGBTQ People?” Father Martin again quotes and discusses those teachings, including the Catechism’s language about same-sex acts and its call to receive people with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Now, that does not settle every concern a Christian may have about Father Martin’s work. It does not mean that every word he has used is wise, clear, or helpful. His way of speaking about same-sex couples, and some of his arguments concerning gender, can leave people believing that Christian moral teaching has been quietly revised when it has not. That is a real concern. Pastoral care must never mean concealing the call of Christ to chastity, repentance, holiness, and a life ordered toward God. But “heresy” is not simply another word for “controversial,” “confusing,” or “a priest I do not trust.” Within the Roman Catholic Church, heresy has a specific meaning: the obstinate denial or doubt of a truth which must be believed with divine and Catholic faith. It is a grave charge. Father Martin’s own public statements, including the ones above, matter when people make it. The comparison with Father Ripperger is also being badly handled online. On October 19, the Archdiocese of Denver said Archbishop James Golka asked Father Ripperger to consider a one-year fast from public speaking and interviews. Father Ripperger agreed. The stated purpose was to give him time to devote himself to the Society of the Most Sorrowful Mother and the people it serves, and the arrangement will be reviewed after a year. That is not the same thing as a priest being “silenced.” It is an archbishop exercising pastoral oversight of a priest and a religious community entrusted to him. Since 2008, my own ministry has often brought me alongside people who are carrying heavy things: gay men and women, people struggling with gender dysphoria, sex workers, addicts, people coming out of exploitation, and people who have been made to believe that the Church has no room for them. Meeting a person where he or she is does not mean abandoning Christian teaching. It means remembering that the person in front of you is not an argument, a talking point, or an enemy to be humiliated. Religious influencers can make all of this spiritually dangerous. They teach people to pick teams, demand instant verdicts, and treat every complicated priest as either a hero or a monster. Christians should be better than that. We can be clear about truth, honest about real concerns, careful with grave accusations, and still remember that Christ came for actual people.