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Fr. James Martin.Cindy Ord / Getty Images for Sheen Center

CHICAGO (LifeSiteNews) – A Catholic high school in Chicago recently hosted dissident priest Fr. James Martin for a discussion on homosexuality and transgenderism, according to a poster shared with LifeSiteNews.

Marist High School invited students, faculty, staff, and the school community to join Fr. Martin for a Zoom session on May 10. The advertisement for the event quoted the Marist Brothers USA Provincial Council 2022 statement: “We are committed to reading and responding to today’s signs of the times, among them: the challenge of racism, the dignity of LGBTQ+ community, care for our common home, the need for evangelization among young people as well as the sense of estrangement from ‘Church’ experienced by many of them.”

Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago has taken a liberal stance on homosexuality issues. For example, in 2021, he criticized the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s statement that priests could not “bless” same-sex couples. “This should prompt us in the Church and in the archdiocese to redouble our efforts to be creative and resilient in finding ways to welcome and encourage all LGBTQ people in our family of faith,” Cdl. Cupich wrote.

Fr. James Martin has a long record of promoting LGBT ideology. Matt Gaspers of Catholic Family News described the Jesuit priest as “arguably the most prominent activist” in the Church for LGBT issues.

Martin has promoted an image drawn from a series of blasphemous, homoerotic works, showing Christ as a homosexual, promoted same-sex civil unions, and he has called it “damaging” to refer to God as a male.

RELATED: Fr. James Martin appears to defend transgender puberty blockers for children

Former Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput warned about Fr. Martin after the Jesuit gave a talk at St. Joseph’s University in Philly. “A pattern of ambiguity in his teachings tends to undermine his stated aims, alienating people from the very support they need for authentic human flourishing,” Abp. Chaput wrote in 2019. “Due to the confusion caused by his statements and activities regarding same-sex related (LGBT) issues, I find it necessary to emphasize that Father Martin does not speak with authority on behalf of the Church, and to caution the faithful about some of his claims.”

Marist Principal Meg Dunneback did not respond to a request for comment on Friday from LifeSiteNews about the attendance at the event and what the school teaches students about individuals with gender dysphoric or homosexual inclinations. LifeSiteNews asked if Marist teaches students that those individuals who struggle with those inclinations are called to a chaste lifestyle.

“Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered,’” the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2357) explains. “They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.”

RELATED: Mother Miriam: Catholics who support LGBT movement are ‘on the way to hell’

At least one recent Marist graduate said this event is par for the course for the Catholic high school.

“I think that this meeting that was set up with Fr. Martin is just the latest event in a sad and worrying trend that Marist, and many Catholic High Schools like it are following,” the graduating senior told LifeSiteNews. He did not attend the event but shared other examples of the school’s rejection of Church teaching.

“They have had talks about consent for the senior classes which mention none of the immorality or church teaching, and put up posters about consent, all encouraging teens to practice safe and consensual sex without even considering discussing the immorality of premarital sex,” he stated. “This, combined with similar talks about diversity, equity, and inclusion, and talks about avoiding micro-aggressions and other faux issues commonly found in the leftist agenda are becoming more prevalent.”

“Our religion department seems to teach everything but the faith, as well as some borderline heretical teaching of their own biblical interpretation,” he told LifeSiteNews. “I worry for the younger students, especially those who don’t come to Marist somewhat well formed in the faith.”

Marist is not the only Catholic high school in the area to embrace liberal sexual politics instead of the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Earlier this school year, Benet Academy severed ties with the Benedictine monks who governed the school because the high school wanted to keep a lacrosse coach who was in a lesbian relationship. Benet Academy is in Lisle, located in the boundaries of the Diocese of Joliet.

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