Father Martin spearheads gay lobby’s attempt to enlist Pope

VATICAN

On 1 September, Father James Martin was received in audience by Pope Leo XIV, and reportedly received full approval of his ministry. 'I am extremely grateful and deeply comforted by my meeting with the Holy Father,' he told the press. 'He encouraged me to continue my ministry.' He added, 'Pope Leo has the same openness as Pope Francis on LGBTQ issues. He made it clear that he wants everyone to feel welcome.'
Father Martin was in Rome with the Outreach jubilee pilgrimage, the Catholic LGBTQ+ organisation he founded three years ago in collaboration with America magazine, for which he is a columnist.

On the Outreach website, Father Martin provided further details of the audience, which he described as lasting 30 minutes in a very joyful and relaxed atmosphere, and offered additional reflections. However, the central message is clear: ‘The message I received from him [the Pope], loud and clear, was that he wants to continue with the same approach as Pope Francis, which has been one of openness and welcome.’

But then he goes on and, despite the initial triumphalist tone and that reserved for the international press, he then explains to his followers that the Pope has other priorities, such as 'the peace processes in Ukraine, Gaza and Myanmar', and that there is no need to worry if he does not intervene much on LGBTQ issues — suffice it to know that he is well aware of them. Perhaps this is a pre-emptive excuse, given that the Rome pilgrimage by LGBTQ groups on 6 September does not include an audience with the Pope. The fact is that this clarification differs from his predecessor's approach.

Moreover, we do not know exactly what Leo XIV and Father Martin said to each other, nor whether the latter correctly summarised the Pope's message. However, it is important to note how the 'widows of Bergoglio' are trying to guard this pontificate by perpetuating the bad habit of telling the world what the Pope allegedly said in private conversations.
Since Leo XIV's election – and even before – certain circles have been clearly concerned to maintain the positions achieved during Francis' pontificate. Consequently, statements and interviews were immediately released with the cry of 'There is no going back'. The focus is on synodality, which, during Francis's pontificate, was used as a tool to subvert doctrine and allow anything to pass in the Church.

Even as Pope Francis was dying, Cardinal Mario Grech, the Secretary General of the Synod, was preoccupied with committing the Church to the implementation phase of the Synod on Synodality for the next three years, culminating in an ecclesial assembly in October 2028. Just a few days after the election of the new pope, Cardinal Grech rushed to affirm that Leo XIV is a 'synodal pope'. At the beginning of the pontificate, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, whom Francis had wanted as general rapporteur of the Synod, was even more assertive. In an interview with Avvenire (the Italian bishops daily newspaper), he clearly stated that synodality was untouchable and granted Leo XIV the possibility of making only minor adjustments.

Father Martin is on the same wavelength, invoking synodality and referencing Leo XIV's previous comments on the subject, in an attempt to mould the pontificate on the LGBTQ issue. Even the jubilee pilgrimage of LGBTQ+ groups taking place next weekend is being publicised precisely to force the Pope's hand and enlist his support.

Therefore, so far, we are not talking about facts and documents that clearly indicate the direction in which Pope Leo XIV intends to lead the Church, but rather about obscure figures of power who prospered under Pope Francis and now insist on tying the hands of his successor.

Leo has always demonstrated to be open on one hand and cautious on the other, avoiding the pitfalls of communication that Francis thrived on. Precisely for this reason, we can legitimately expect a halt to this malpractice of private audiences being turned into a show for the Pope's guests' own benefit. During the previous pontificate, there were embarrassing judgements and statements (from Eugenio Scalfari's interviews onwards) which the Press Office (cunningly) said it was unable to confirm or deny because they were private audiences. Anyone who was received by the Pope felt entitled to talk about the support they had received for their ideas and initiatives. This generated messages that influenced public opinion more than any encyclical.

In the reform of Vatican communications that so many are calling for, all of this must stop. If the Pope intends to take an initiative or communicate a judgement, he must do so publicly, rather than entrusting his words to improvised ventriloquists who present themselves to the public with 'the Pope told me that...'. Those who think they can advance their agenda by exploiting the Pope must be sanctioned.

Finally, a note on the question of welcome, or rather the ambiguity of this term that Father Martin & Co. exploit. The Daily Compass has written about this many times before, but it is worth repeating: welcoming people with homosexual tendencies is sacrosanct. However, that is not what Father Martin is talking about. He does not consider the individual or God's plan for them as set out in the Catechism of the Catholic Church; he simply wants to promote homosexuality within the Church, realise LGBTQ+ ideology and subvert doctrine. We are confident that Pope Leo XIV is well aware of this.