Two US Bishops Back Archbishop Chaput’s Cautionary Take on Father Martin's Message

The National Catholic Register ^ | 9/23/19 | CNA

[marshmallow]

Bishops Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, and Rick Stika of Knoxville, Tennessee, weighed in.

PHILADELPHIA — After Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia urged caution regarding the message on human sexuality propagated by Jesuit Father James Martin, other U.S. bishops have weighed in on the priest’s message.

“Father Martin’s public messages create confusion among the faithful and disrupt the unity of the Church by promoting a false sense that immoral sexual behavior is acceptable under God’s law,” Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, wrote Sept. 19.

“People with same-sex attraction are indeed created and loved by God and are welcome in the Catholic Church. But the Church’s mission to these brothers and sisters is the same as to all her faithful: to guide, encourage, and support each of us in the Christian struggle for virtue, sanctification, and purity,” the bishop added.

Bishop Paprocki’s statement came in response to a Sept. 19 column from Archbishop Charles Chaput, that urged caution about “a pattern of ambiguity” in the writing and teaching of Martin.

Archbishop Chaput’s column raised his concern that “Father Martin — no doubt unintentionally — inspires hope that the Church’s teachings on human sexuality can be changed.”

Father Martin is the author of Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity. He speaks frequently on issues pertaining to homosexuality and Catholicism. He spoke Sept. 17 at Philadelphia’s St. Joseph’s University, a Jesuit university.

“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,” Archbishop Chaput wrote.

“Archbishop Chaput has provided a helpful caution......

[Marchmain]

“Father Martin — no doubt unintentionally — inspires hope that the Church’s teachings on human sexuality can be changed.”

Unintentional? Inspires hope?

Chaput does this often, undermines his whole argument by trying too hard to be politically correct.