Catholic Lecture Speaker Encourages Building a Bridge to Welcome all Catholics

Catholic Lecture Speaker Encourages Building a Bridge to Welcome all Catholics
November 19, 2018

In keeping with the University’s Catholic and Vincentian mission to “embrace the Judeo-Christian ideals of respect for the rights and dignity of every person” St. John’s welcomed the message of Rev. James Martin, S.J., Editor-at-Large of the Jesuit magazine America, during his lecture, “Building a Bridge: Reaching Out to LGBT Catholics,” held on November 8 in Marillac Auditorium on St. John’s University’s Queens, NY, campus. Fr. Martin has authored several books, including Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity.

Fr. Martin’s lecture was part of St. John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ annual Catholic Lecture Series.  Established in 2009, the St. John’s College Catholic Lecture Series brings a noted Catholic scholar to St. John’s University to spend a day at St. John’s meeting with students and faculty and giving a lecture open to the University community. 

“Fr. Martin was very careful not to make his lecture about the often tense debates about church teaching and sexuality,” observed Christopher Vogt, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Theology and Religious Studies. “Instead, he emphasized the importance of respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Surely these are virtues and values that should be embraced by everyone who is part of the St. John’s University community.”

He added, “I was very impressed by the ways in which Fr. Martin embodied the values of compassion, sensitivity, and respect for all people in his lecture, and in his interactions with all of the members of the St. John’s University community.” 

In offering ways to welcome LGBT Catholics, Fr. Martin asked the audience to examine their own attitudes. “Parishes need to remember that LGBT people and their families are baptized Catholics,” he asserted, adding, “It is not a question of making them Catholic. They already are.”

He noted that the disenfranchisement they feel is not limited to the Church, and that in the US, lesbian, gay, and transgender youth are five times as likely to attempt suicide. Fifty-seven percent of LGBT individuals feel unsafe because of their orientation, he said.

“Most LGBT Catholics have been deeply wounded by the Church,” Fr. Martin observed. They may never have heard the terms gay or lesbian expressed in any positive or neutral way. Even if negative comments did not come from within the parish setting, they may have heard other Catholic leaders make homophobic comments, he said.

Fr. Martin added that as a group, LGBT individuals possess many gifts, and because they have been so marginalized, many of them possess a natural compassion for those on the fringes of society.

“Their compassion is a gift. Their forgiveness is a gift. They persevere as Catholics in the face of years of rejection. Their perseverance is a gift,” he stressed.

Fr. Martin suggested events and outreach programs are helpful to bridge the gap. He recommended that parishes should find new and creative ways to be more welcoming, such as a Mass of welcome, a weekend retreat, a day of recollection, a book club, or a speaker.

 “LGBT people,” Fr. Martin continued, “want to meet Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. They want to experience the Holy Spirit in the sacraments. They want to hear good homilies, sing good music, and feel part of a faith community.”

Fr. Martin praised the St. John’s community for its welcoming and inclusive spirit. Both before and after his talk, he met privately with various students to engage them further on the topic in small group discussions.

“Fr. Martin’s talk filled me with awe and gratitude,” observed Environmental Science major Elizabeth Rodewald. “He made it very clear that the Church, while staying true to doctrine, is and should be open to the needs of all its flock. His messages of love and support showed dedication to those who have felt marginalized and discriminated against.” Elizabeth met with Fr. Martin, and noted he led a thoughtful discussion. “It gave me a new perspective—one based on inclusion, acceptance, and love.”

Victoria O’Keefe, Residence Minister for Social Justice said, “I found that Fr. Martin’s words lead us to reflect on our own lives. Do we condemn, degrade, and prejudge the actions of others before we even know them?” She added that for many people in the world, “compassion has not been a reality,” especially within the LGBT community.

“I was reminded of St. Teresa of Calcutta’s notion that we belong to each other. As a Campus Minister at St. John’s University, I am grateful that this incredible person of faith, who called for every individual to be treated with dignity and respect, visited our university community.”

 “God loves LGBT people—so should we,” Fr. Martin asserted. “And I do not mean a stingy, grudging, judgmental, conditional, half-hearted love. I mean real love. And what does real love mean? The same thing it means for everyone: knowing them in the complexity of their lives, celebrating with them when life is sweet, suffering with them when life is bitter—as a friend would. But I say even more: love them as Jesus loved people on the margins: extravagantly.”