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(LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis has once again written to dissident, pro-LGBT Jesuit Father James Martin, praising the priest for a scandalous LGBT conference he recently hosted and for the “culture of encounter” he promotes amongst “LGBT Catholics.”

Fr. Martin S.J. announced that Outreach – “a new LGBTQ Catholic resource” he recently set up – had sent the Pope details about Outreach’s recent conference, which featured a range of pro-LGBT speakers advocating positions contrary to the Catholic Church’s teaching on homosexuality. 

Pro-LGBT Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv., of Lexington, Kentucky, gave the keynote address the first day of the conference, while Fr. Bryan Massingale, a dissident, openly homosexual priest and Fordham University professor who supports same-sex “marriage,” delivered a keynote speech the second day.

Martin noted that accompanying the conference brochure sent to the Pope was a letter “describing what happened at the conference, especially the panel conversations among people with various viewpoints.”

On the morning of August 2, Outreach received a signed letter in Spanish from Francis by way of a response, which was dated July 20. Fr. Martin’s tweet, announcing the letter, was “liked” by the Pontifical Academy for Life.

Addressing Martin as “brother,” the Pope congratulated the dissident priest for the conference, saying that “the most valuable thing” was what “happened in the interpersonal meetings.”

Referencing the COVID-19 “pandemic,” Francis wrote that it “taught us that there are things that are irreplaceable, among them being able to look at each other ‘face to face,’ even with those who think differently or with whom differences seem to separate and even confront us.” (The full text is found below.)

“When we overcome those barriers,” he continued, “we realize that there is more that unites us than what keeps us apart.”

The 85-year-old Pontiff also praised Martin for “working in the culture of encounter,” which, he said, “shortens distances and enriches us with our differences, just as Jesus did.”

Fr. Martin’s Outreach conference, held at the liberal “Catholic” Fordham University, was attended by over 200 people from across North America, Europe, Africa and South America, who Martin described as “theologians and writers; high school teachers and college professors; pastors and parish lay leaders; mothers and fathers; gay, straight, bisexual, lesbian and transgender people — all part of the same church.”

Faithful Catholics had organized prayerful protests against the conference, arguing that Martin’s “public revolt against Catholic moral teaching causes scandal, especially among faithful Catholic students.” “Moreover, the summit features a line-up of dissident speakers who share a common objective: Normalize unnatural vice inside the Holy Catholic Church,” TFP Student Action warned.

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LifeSite's Rome correspondent, Louis Knuffke, delivers four other LifePetitions to the Vatican:

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UPDATE (8/2/22): Cardinal Cupich has regretfully banned the Institute of Christ the King from offering the Traditional Latin Masses or hearing Confessions at their parish in Chicago. 

An official sign from the Institute was posted at the Shrine of Christ the King, saying: “As of August 1, the celebration of public Masses is suspended. Confession times are discontinued. The Chapel remains open for prayer.”

See LifeSiteNews' special report here

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Sources have leaked to LifeSiteNews that Cardinal Cupich seems ready to completely ban a community of Traditional priests from offering the Latin Mass in the Archdiocese of Chicago!

July 31st appears to be the deadline for priests belonging to the Institute of Christ the King to close down all public Latin Masses — which would end their ministry in the Archdiocese of Chicago full stop.

This outrageous persecution against faithful Catholics is an affront to 2,000 years of Tradition and is the rallying cry for today's saints: We need brave and devout Catholics across the world to demand Cardinal Cupich respect the holy priests of the Institute of Christ the King and SAVE the Traditional Latin Mass! 

SIGN: CARDINAL CUPICH MUST HEAR THAT CATHOLICS LIKE YOU LOVE AND SUPPORT THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS! >>> 

The Institute of Christ the King has attracted national attention for its beautiful, reverent, and profound celebration of the TLM — all of which looks set to end in LESS THAN TWO WEEKS! 

There are currently 18 ICKSP apostolates dotting more than 10 states in America — serving 400-500 faithful Catholics just in the city of Chicago with 3 Latin Masses every Sunday. With this rumored attack, Cupich — who also serves in high-profile Vatican positions — is sending a sign to all traditionalist priests worldwide.

This robust Catholic community is truly a jewel of Catholic Tradition — making it odd that the ICKSP might be the subject of censorship!

As LifeSiteNews continued reporting...  

"Cardinal Cupich, a close collaborator of Pope Francis and a promoter of the liberal agenda within the Church, has already issued restrictions regarding the traditional Latin rite within his diocese at the end of last year."

*** Catholics must defend and promote the Traditional Latin Mass before the potential July 31st deadline! ***

It’s important now more than ever to send a message to Cardinal Cupich that the Institute of Christ the King must continue its ministry of offering the TLM without fear of retaliation or hostility.  

END OF JULY DEADLINE: SEND A MESSAGE TO CARDINAL CUPICH THAT YOU STAND WITH THE INSTITUTE OF CHRIST THE KING! >>> 

The crackdown is expected to take effect at the end of July, when the Institute of Christ the King will be expected to celebrate the Novus Ordo Mass — in opposition to their vocational calling to protect the TLM. 

This mandate is by design, but the ICKSP is currently holding strong. Catholics all across the world must tell the faithful priests of the ICKSP that we are praying for them and raising our voices! 

RAISE YOUR VOICE: PROTECT THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS FROM CENSORSHIP! >>> 

Thank you for committing yourself to the frontline fight defending Catholicism from the onslaught of the Cardinal Cupich’s modernist movement. It is moments like these that Catholics from all over the world show their true colors. Stand for TRADITION. Defend the Institute of Christ the King! Send a message to Cardinal Blase Cupich! 

DEFEND THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS BY SENDING A RESOUNDING MESSAGE NOW! >>> 

Return to Tradition also features the LifeSiteNews article mentioned throughout this petition.

Thank you for signing this petition and sending a message to Cardinal Cupich before the end of the month deadline.

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One of the non-clerical speakers at the event was Dr. Colt St. Amand, a woman who presents herself as a “transgenderqueer Two Spirit man.” St. Amand, a psychologist, provides “mental health letters” for “face, chest/breast, and genital surgeries” for “transgender” clients and assists them to obtain puberty blockers and “transition in school,” her website states.

READ: Cardinal Dolan endorses Fr. James Martin’s new LGBT activism group

The conference operated with a marked degree of ecclesiastical approval, not only from Francis – who wrote a letter welcoming conference attendees – but also from New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who praised Outreach’s “important ministry” as promoting the “virtue of chastity.”

Outreach itself operates “under the auspices of America Media,” which oversees the far-left, Jesuit-run America Magazine. The group is the brainchild of Martin and his past pro-LGBT activities, as it looks to become a global resource center “where church leaders, both clergy and lay, can encounter the LGBTQ faithful, in their ‘joys and hopes’ and ‘griefs and anxieties’ as well as engage in respectful dialogue.”

Increasing signs of Papal support for Fr. Martin

The Pope’s letter is not the first time he has written in support of the relatively new Outreach group. In May, Outreach announced that Francis had responded to a letter sent him by Martin on May 5, asking the Pope questions often posed by “LGBTQ Catholics.” Francis took just three days to respond, sending a hand-written message on May 8, only days after having undergone knee surgery on May 3.

Francis decried “rejection from the Church,” saying that for LGBT individuals “I would have them recognize it not as ‘the rejection of the church,’ but instead of ‘people in the church.’ The church is a mother and calls together all her children.”

READ: Pope Francis addresses ‘LGBT Catholics’ via Fr. James Martin: A ‘selective’ Church is a ‘sect’

The letter was used in a PR campaign to officially launch Outreach.

Francis and Martin met privately in September 2019, in what was reportedly their third meeting, although their first substantial conversation. Both Martin, and America Magazine of which he is an “editor-at-large,” proclaimed the meeting as being “a public sign” of the pontiff’s “support” for Martin’s work promoting LGBT ideology in the name of Catholicism. 

In April 2017, Martin was appointed by the Pope as one of the 13 consultors who advise the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communications, and the Vatican then 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+.”

More recently, Francis has notably made a number of statements in support of dissident nun Sister Jeannine Grammick and her previously condemned pro-LGBT group New Ways Ministry. Grammick is a collaborator with Martin in Outreach.

Full text of Pope Francis’ letter to Fr. Martin is found below:

Dear Brother,

Thank you for the letter you sent me a few weeks ago together with the brochure “Outreach 2022.” Congratulations for having been able to make this year’s event happen in person.

I am aware that the most valuable thing is not what appears in the brochures and photos, but what happened in the interpersonal meetings. In fact, the pandemic made us look for alternatives to shorten the distances. It also taught us that there are things that are irreplaceable, among them being able to look at each other “face to face,” even with those who think differently or with whom differences seem to separate and even confront us. When we overcome those barriers, we realize that there is more that unites us than what keeps us apart.

I encourage you to continue working in the culture of encounter, which shortens distances and enriches us with our differences, just as Jesus did, who made himself close to everyone.

I assure you of my prayers. Do not stop praying for me. May Jesus bless you and the Holy Virgin watch over you.

Fraternally, Francisco

Secure a home for canceled priests: LifeFunder

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