VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — After meeting privately with Father James Martin S.J. on Thursday, Pope Francis described the pro-LGBT Jesuit as a “man who has values, a communicator who also knows how to teach you the way of communication with God.”
Pope Francis met with Martin on November 10, in a private meeting which lasted 45 minutes, during which time the pair covered topics including “the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties, of LGBTQ Catholics.”
READ: Pope Francis once again receives pro-LGBT Fr. James Martin in meeting at the Vatican
The following day, Francis addressed the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communications, whose members had gathered for a plenary assembly. Martin was present, having been one of 12 consultors who advise the Dicastery for Communications since April 2017 and recently re-appointed for another five year term.
In personal comments delivered before his prepared address, Francis referenced the “communication of values” which he urged the Dicastery to perform, highlighting Martin as an example of this.
“We cannot descend to communication without values. We have to communicate with our values,” stated the Pope.
“This does not mean that we have to pray the novena to a saint every day,” he added. “Christian values, the values that are behind, the values that teach us to move forward. The person who plays for human values.”
“For example,” said Francis, “I see James Martin here. ‘Ah, yes, this one works….’ Yes, but this one wrote a book called ‘To Learn to Pray’ [Teach Us to Pray].”
Francis then recommended Martin’s 2021 book to the entire Dicastery, arguing that it would teach them about “communication with God.”
Read it, because this teaches you how to pray. A man who has values, a communicator who also knows how to teach you the way of communication with God. That’s what being a communicator is all about. To go, to walk, to risk, with values, convinced that I am giving my life with my values, Christian values and human values.
Continuing, Francis echoed his oft-repeated remarks against “rigid” Catholics, declaring that he is “wary of aseptic communicators, these who are pure technique, pure.”
“Technique alone doesn’t help, technique helps you if there is a heart behind it,” he said.
Catholics firmly rejected the argument that Martin was a “communicator” of the “values” of God after heterodox outlet The Tablet noted the meeting was “significant,” and claimed Martin faced “attacks…due to his ministry to LGBT Catholics.”
Catholic Family News managing editor Matt Gaspers rejected this, saying that Martin “faces legitimate scrutiny/criticism for refusing to condemn unnatural vice and call those who engage in such wicked behavior to repentance/conversion.”
FACT CHECK: @JamesMartinSJ doesn’t face “attacks … due to his ministry to LGBT Catholics”. He faces legitimate scrutiny/criticism for refusing to condemn unnatural vice and call those who engage in such wicked behavior to repentance/conversion.https://t.co/6Hled97Ocq https://t.co/DyFrbLOceK
— Matt Gaspers (@MattGaspers) November 14, 2022
Fellow Jesuits promoting LGBT ideology
Francis and Martin previously met privately in September 2019, in what was reportedly already their third meeting but their first substantial conversation. Both Martin, and America Magazine of which he is an “editor-at-large,” proclaimed the 2019 meeting as being “a public sign” of the pontiff’s “support” for Martin’s work promoting LGBT ideology in the name of Catholicism.
Their latest meeting was again taken as a sign of papal approval of his anti-Catholic and pro-LGBT activism – a sign which is now unmistakable given Francis’ comments to the Dicastery on Friday.
Martin’s favor with Pope Francis comes alongside his longstanding record of promoting LGBT ideology in dissent from Catholic teaching.
The Jesuit priest is described as “arguably the most prominent activist” in the Church for LGBT issues.
READ: Fr. James Martin refers to God as ‘her,’ attacks so-called ‘damaging’ portrayal of God as man
Among his most notorious actions, Martin has promoted an image drawn from a series of blasphemous, homoerotic works, showing Christ as a homosexual, promoted same-sex civil unions, and has described viewing God as male as “damaging.”
Despite this, the Vatican invited him to speak at the 2018 World Meeting of Families in Dublin on “Exploring how Parishes can support those families with members who identify as LGBTI+.”
Indeed, in the past 18 months, Francis has made a number of public displays of support for Martin, including sending two letters to Martin and his LGBT Outreach group.
***MAJOR UPDATE, November 10, 2022*** LifeSiteNews reported the bombshell statement issued by Archbishop Viganò, declaring that members of the “Bergoglian church” are no longer in union with the Church of Christ.
According to Archbishop Viganò:
the visible church, to which the world gives the name of Catholic Church and of which it considers Bergoglio as Pope, is no longer Church...
This statement was long overdue, and Archbishop Viganò is finally sounding the alarm — Pope Francis is leading the Church into something radically different than the Church established by Christ. Pope Francis cannot continue betraying the faithful by abdicating his duty as Universal Shepherd.
The time to redouble our efforts and fervently request that Pope Francis repent and be reconciled with the Church is NOW.
SIGN and SHARE. Defend the Church and demand that Pope Francis faithfully uphold the authentic Catholic faith!
Bishops from across the world have raised concern over Pope Francis' unfaithfulness to the 2,000+ years of Catholic teaching, and the recent statement by Archbishop Viganò is truly the breaking point into a new era for faithful Catholics.
READ THE FULL STATEMENT FROM LIFESITENEWS AND SIGN THIS PETITION TO DEFEND THE CHURCH NOW.
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Bishop Joseph Strickland, Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Fr. James Altman, and two dozen more faithful Catholic priests & scholars are publicly calling out Pope Francis for his outrageous, dangerous, and heretical teaching concerning reception of Holy Communion.
Pope Francis stated that "faith" is the only requirement for those who wish to receive Holy Communion in his June 29 Apostolic Letter on the liturgy, Desiderio desideravi.
This statement is dangerous because:
- The Council of Trent explicitly anathematized those who make this claim calling it 'heresy'
- Pope Francis omitted the essential step of repentance for sin to worthily receive the Eucharist.
- Pope Francis is thereby allowing the faithful to eat and drink condemnation on themselves, should they receive Holy Communion unworthily
- Pope Francis is supporting moral relativism, eradicating the clear distinction between good and evil
- Pope Francis is eradicating the need for the Sacrament of Confession
- Pope Francis is damaging the teaching office of the Church by sowing doubt and division among faithful Catholics
But there is a way to stop Pope Francis' modernist attack and defend the true Catholic teaching on Holy Communion.
Catholics everywhere must renounce Pope Francis' heresy and uphold the truth: only Baptized Catholics in the state of grace, and therefore free of mortal sin, can receive Holy Communion*.
For those in mortal sin, repentance and absolution must first be sought in the Sacrament of Confession before receiving the Eucharist*.
Pope Francis' statement would mislead many souls, which is why we need your help today to stand with Bishop Strickland, Fr. Altman, Bishop Schneider, and more.
TELL POPE FRANCIS: HOLY COMMUNION CAN ONLY BE RECEIVED IN THE STATE OF GRACE!
The growing list of faithful Catholics who are standing for the truth and bravely resisting Pope Francis' attempt to dilute the Church's moral authority is only growing. This is great news, but the news can't simply stop with you.
You must join the growing list of supporters to but a STOP to Pope Francis' heresy.
WATCH: LifeSiteNews' co-CEO and Editor-in-Chief, John-Henry Westen, fully breaks down the growing list of faithful Catholics choosing to resist Pope Francis' attack on the faith.
Stand with these faithful Catholics: Bishop Joseph E. Strickland, Bishop André Gracida, Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Bishop Robert Mutsaerts, Father Gerald E. Murray, Father James Altman, Father John Lovell, Professor Claudio Pierantoni, Dr. John Lamont, Dr. Peter Kwasniewski, Professor Anna Silvas, Dr. Anthony Esolen, Professor John Rist, Professor Paolo Pasqualucci, Julia Meloni, George Neumayr, and LifeSite’s John-Henry Westen.
*However, if a Catholic is unable to attend Confession but has a grave reason for receiving the Eucharist (such as a priest who may be required to celebrate Mass at a given time but who is unable to go to Confession), such a person must be confident to the best of his ability that he have perfect contrition for any mortal sins that he may have committed before receiving Holy Communion in an exceptional situation.
MORE INFORMATION:
Full statement by Catholic bishops and scholars correcting Pope Francis' heresy - LifeSiteNews
In August, Martin published a letter he had received from the Pope which praised Martin’s pro-LGBT conference held in June. The event featured a range of pro-LGBT speakers advocating positions contrary to the Catholic Church’s teaching on homosexuality, but Francis lauded Martin for “working in the culture of encounter,” which, he said, “shortens distances and enriches us with our differences, just as Jesus did.”
READ: Pope Francis addresses ‘LGBT Catholics’ via Fr. James Martin: A ‘selective’ Church is a ‘sect’
Despite Martin’s continued LGBT activism and the public support he receives from Francis, the Catholic Church teaches that “‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered’ and “are contrary to the natural law,” adding explicitly that “under no circumstances can they be approved.”
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s (CDF) 1986 document “On the pastoral care of homosexual persons” also rebuffs the Pope’s version of “outreach,” writing that a “truly pastoral approach will appreciate the need for homosexual persons to avoid the near occasions of sin.”However, since the CDF’s March 2021 responsum condemning same-sex “blessings,” Pope Francis has made numerous public statements praising and supporting advocates of LGBT ideology and same-sex civil unions.
READ: No room for ‘inclusion’: Homosexuality and transgenderism are sins against nature itself