Pope Leo XIV and Fr. James Martin, SJ

Pope Leo XIV met with Fr. James Martin, SJ on Monday, September 1 at the Apostolic Palace. The meeting lasted about 30 minutes. The Vatican does not generally speak to private meetings with the pope, so it has not released any summary of the meeting regarding what they spoke about. But Fr. Martin was happy to offer his own summary. Basically, he said that Pope Leo hopes to continue the path of Pope Francis in being welcoming to homosexuals. Fr. Martin repeated Pope Francis’ line when asked about the Church welcoming homosexuals, “Todos, todos,” meaning “Everyone! Everyone!” indicating that the Church is to be open to all who desire a relationship with Christ through the Church founded by Christ.

There has been a great deal of confusion about what, exactly, was Pope Francis’ position regarding homosexuals and homosexual couples and their relationship with the Church. Part of that confusion is rooted in how the press reported on Pope Francis, nearly always emphasizing his “libreral” positions and de-emphasizing (in fact, rarely even reporting on) his statements that aligned with traditional Catholic faith and morals. The press also felt quite at ease with interpreting Pope Francis’ statements and documents in a way that supports the progressive wing of the Church. But, to be frank, part of the confusion was caused by Pope Francis himself. He often spoke extemporaneously, sometimes saying things that confused the faithful, such as when he said, “All religions are paths to God.” Tom Hoopes, author of What Pope Francis Really Said, explained what Francis meant. Another instance being that the declaration Fiducia Supplicans, states the following in paragraph 31: “Within the horizon outlined here appears the possibility of blessings for couples in irregular situations and for couples of the same sex, …” and, “For this reason, one should neither provide for nor promote a ritual for the blessings of couples in an irregular situation” (so, ordained ministers, Catholic conferences, litergy committees, etc. may not create liturgies for blessing same sex couples. They must be spontaneous. But it still includes the possibility of blessing a same sex couple, just not the creation of a formalized liturgy for such).

Now, I contend that there is no way anyone could read the above and not conclude that the Church is allowing the blessing of same sex couples. However, in an interview with Nora O’Donnell of CBS News on May 19, 2024 for 60 Minutes, Ms. O’Donnell asked Pope Francis why he allowed the blessing of same sex couples. Pope Francis replied, “No, what I allowed was not to bless the union. That cannot be done because that is not the sacrament. I cannot, the Lord made it that way. But to bless each person, yes. The blessing is for everyone. For everyone. To bless a homosexual type union, however, goes against the given right, against the law of the Church. But to bless each person? Why not? The blessing is for all. Some people were scandalized by this, but why? Everyone! Everyone!” Again, any normal person would read that as meaning that Pope Francis did not allow the blessing of same sex couples, but only the blessing of individuals within same sex unions. Indeed, that is the interpretation understood by New Ways Ministry, an organization that has, since the 1970s, advocated for the full acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle (and now bisexuals and transgenders), including same sex marriage, by the Church.

(Some outlets reported that Francis’ words were interpreted differently in Spanish than in English. Where the English translation wrote that, “To bless a homosexual union, however, goes against the given right,…”, Spanish interpretations said such goes against “natural law.” To say that to bless a homosexual union goes against “natural law” makes more sense, and I think that better interprets what Pope Francis intended to communicate).

This is a serious problem. What, exactly, did Francis intend? The document clearly says one thing, at least in the English translation (and that may be the problem), while Pope Francis himself clearly said another, at least according to how he was interpreted (and that may be the problem). The bottom line is, however, there shouldn’t be the need for a book entitled What the Pope Really Said regardless of who is pope. The Church must speak with clarity, or confusion will reign, and people will exploit that confusion to interpret what the Church is teaching in a way that satisfies their own agenda, priorities, and preferences. And they will influence others accordingly.

Fr. James Martin, in my humble opinion, should not be granted audiences with the pope. While many Catholics suspect his position on homosexuality is contrary to the Church’s teaching, he is quite nimble in how he expresses his position, so that it’s difficult to ascertain what it is, or how far he goes in what he thinks the Church’s position should be on the homosexual lifestyle and same sex unions or marriage. Abp Charles Chaput, OFMCap, former archbishop of Philadelphia, does an excellent job of delineating the problems with Fr. Martin and his activities. Here is my own review of Fr. Martin’s book Building a Bridge, and a critique of Fr. Martin’s idea that a teaching of the Church is only authoritative if it is accepted by a particular set of the faithful.

So, what should we take away from Fr. Martin’s meeting with Pope Leo. Fr. Martin gave his summary of the meeting. He said they spoke of many topics, including Pope Leo’s concern for peace in Ukraine, Gaza, and Myanmar. In terms of his ministry to the LGBTQ+ community, Fr. Martin told him that the Holy Father “encouraged me to continue my ministry. Fr. Martin’s own conclusion was that, “Pope Leo has the same openness to LGBTQ issues as Pope Francis had. He made clear that he wants everyone to feel welcome.”

In my estimation, we should take away that Pope Leo, like Pope Francis before him, intends no revolutionary changes in Church teaching on LGBTQ+ matters. Pope Francis, for all his openness to the LGBTQ+ community, did not, in fact, change any of the doctrines of the Church on LGBTQ+ concerns. He affirmed that marriage is the union between one man and one woman and, while confusion reigned, and still does, on the matter of blessing same sex couples, Francis himself seemed to make clear his take on the matter, and that was that the Church cannot bless same sex couples, much less unions, but may bless individuals in same sex relationships. Francis caused a great deal of confusion, however, in his welcoming of priests and sisters, and homosexual couples and encouraging their work among homosexuals. Why? Because the work they did and do for homosexuals often includes a disparaging of Catholic teaching on homosexuality as well as a misplaced hope that Church teaching will change. I hope and pray that Pope Leo does not cause the confusion that Francis did. What we Catholics need now, especially after Francis’ papacy, is clarity on Church teaching. No one should ever be confused about what the Church teaches.

Everyone is welcome, but on the Lord Jesus’ terms.

Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.