The Jesuit priest said the pro-LGBT celebration affirms ‘human dignity’ and aligns with the Sacred Heart devotion, despite Church teaching to the contrary.
(LifeSiteNews) — As in previous years, Father James Martin has urged Catholics to celebrate “Pride month,” saying that “for the LGBTQ community” it is “a recognition of the human dignity of a group of people who have, for centuries been, treated with contempt, rejection and violence.”
Amid the rise of LGBT ideology in secular society, the prominence of marking June as “Pride month” has similarly grown.
For the Jesuit Martin, it is important for this to be the case. "Pride month," he wrote, is “mainly about supporting the fundamental human rights of the LGBTQ community: the right to live in safety, the right to be treated as equals, and the right to be fully welcome in society.”
Continuing, he wrote in his pro-LGBT outlet Outreach:
For the religious person, this month is also a reminder that LGBTQ people are beloved children of God. Pride Month reminds Catholics to treat LGBTQ people with the “respect, compassion and sensitivity” that the Catechism commands, the “closeness, compassion and tenderness” that Pope Francis has taught, and the love and mercy that Jesus showed to all people, especially those on the margins, during his public ministry.
It’s especially important for churches to mark Pride Month since much of the rejection that LGBTQ people have faced has been motivated by Christianity – at least what many people think Christianity teaches. An example: One of the most common reasons for homelessness among LGBTQ teens is that they have been kicked out of their families for ostensibly religious reasons.
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.” This language has drawn criticism from Martin in the past, who has questioned the Church’s choice of language.
READ: Fr. James Martin argues there’s no conflict between Pride Month and Sacred Heart devotion
The Church also has a special devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in June, which Martin himself noted, but as in previous years he said that this devotion could easily be aligned with Pride Month:
As I see it, the two are complementary, not contradictory. The Sacred Heart teaches us how Jesus loves; Pride Month reminds us whom Jesus invites us to love today.
He also sought to distance himself somewhat from the LGBT festival that “Pride” events tend to be, attesting that “just because you celebrate Pride Month doesn’t mean that you necessarily agree with what every person, every organization or even every float in every parade has to say.”
Giving the month to “Pride,” opined the Jesuit, “is mainly about supporting the fundamental human rights of the LGBTQ community: the right to live in safety, the right to be treated as equals, and the right to be fully welcome in society.”
“For the LGBTQ person,” he added, “pride is not about vanity but about human dignity.”
"Pride month" is societally promoted as an acceptance of all things related to LGBT ideology and appears at its heart to be a rejection of traditional Catholic teaching on marriage, morality, and the family.
Pride is also listed by the Church as one of the seven deadly sins – an aspect often highlighted by clerics who warn against promoting, or participating in, “Pride month.”
Martin also condemned the sin of pride, but commented that the celebration of “Pride month” is something different:
But the second kind of pride is a consciousness of one’s own dignity. And that’s closer to what Pride Month is meant to be for the LGBTQ community: a recognition of the human dignity of a group of people who have, for centuries been, treated with contempt, rejection and violence.
He encouraged individuals to congratulate young people who declare themselves as “LGBTQ,” saying that “God wants them to be who they are”:
Maybe the best way to think about Pride Month is to imagine what you would say to a young person who finally summoned up the courage to tell you that they are LGBTQ. You know that God created them. You know that God loves them. And you know that God wants them to be who they are. So, you would probably say, “I am so proud of you for being able to say that.”
Lamenting the decline in “Pride” events this year – a marked phenomenon in contrast to 2024 – Martin also suggested that such events “may be more relevant than ever.”
Thanks in part to Martin’s own activity with his LGBT Outreach group, Pope Francis welcomed a number of LGBT groups at the Vatican in recent years and directly supported Martin’s Outreach.
EXCLUSIVE: Fr. James Martin says Pope Francis wanted to make LGBT people ‘feel at home’
Martin’s own record on LGBT issues is well documented, and among other things has promoted same-sex civil unions and has described viewing God as male as “damaging.”
Martin has previously denied that he rejects Church teaching on homosexuality and LGBT issues, although he has become the public champion of such questions in the Church. But others disagree. Raymond Cardinal Burke deemed the priest’s teaching as “not coherent with the Church’s teaching on homosexuality.” Archbishop Charles Chaput joined the ranks of prelates opposing Martin, saying that on LGBT issues, he “does not speak with authority on behalf of the Church.”
