There are many kinds of apparitions and visions, but Marian ones predominate in the Catholic Church.

The last major Vatican document addressing the topic is the "Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy," issued in 2001.

It quotes a line from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which sums up the church's stance with admirable clarity: "Throughout the ages, there have been so-called private revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith" (No. 67).

In other words, you do not have to believe in Marian apparitions to be a good Catholic.

But I do.

I've never had a problem believing in them.

My general approach is: If God could create the universe ex nihilo and raise his Son from the dead, then having Mary appear from time to time, and even being the occasion for some miracles, seems easy by comparison.

That statement may sound flip.

But it is entirely serious.

It is surely within God's power to enable these things to happen.

So, I am always amazed when people say, "God wouldn't possibly do that." Oh, really?

I also say this as someone who has visited three major Marian shrines, which have deeply moved me: Lourdes, Fátima and Knock.

The stories of the visionaries and what I experienced in those places go a long way to convince me of the veracity of the apparitions.

There is also a striking sameness among most Marian apparitions (at least these three) that reminds me of the sameness that one finds as a spiritual director who listens for God's voice.

As St Ignatius Loyola says in his Spiritual Exercises, there is a certain quality to God's voice that one can recognize.

Likewise, in these apparitions.

Three stories

I know Lourdes best, having been there several times on pilgrimages with the Order of Malta over the years. Continue reading

• James Martin, S.J., is a Jesuit priest, author, editor at large at America and founder of Outreach.

Gentili was a transgender woman of colour who advocated for the health and dignity of sex workers and LGBTQIA+ people.

She was also a baptised Catholic and therefore entitled to a Catholic funeral, a corporal work of mercy.

Gentili was born in Argentina and, after surviving a childhood of sexual abuse, immigrated to the United States where she was "undocumented, homeless and trafficked for prostitution in the U.S., [and] she also had a heroin addiction," The New York Times wrote in an obituary.

'In spite of these hardships, Gentili went on to assume leadership roles in nonprofits, providing health care for trans people and AIDS patients and advocating for the decriminalization of sex work.

Gentili exhibited a life of joy, love and radical acceptance.

However, the funeral garnered criticism and condemnation from a number of Catholic media outlets and figures, including the New York Archdiocese.

It is regrettable, to say the least, that many Catholics have chosen to react in anger, assuming that because Gentili had identified as an atheist, the Catholic funeral was a mockery of the faith.

But in a November 2023 interview Gentili had said, "I have been reexamining my relationship with religion for a long time," and articulated her renewed intention to attend church on Sundays with her partner.

Detractors have called her funeral "indecent" and "revolting," labelling those in attendance "rank anti-Catholic bigots."

The pastor of the cathedral, Fr Enrique Salvo, responded to the public outcry with a formal statement, calling the funeral "scandalous" and "sacrilegious."

Others have expressed concern that the event may have further harmed trans people's reputation with the Catholic Church.

But the livestream of the funeral service reveals a liturgy of joy rooted in Christian values of charity, human dignity and hope of everlasting life.

Before the funeral rite began, Black actor and singer Billy Porter delivered a powerful performance of the Gospel hymn "This Day," a rendition of the Our Father prayer.

Catholic Vote tweeted that Porter's performance was "mocking the Our Father prayer" and called it "unbelievable and sick."

Such a response belies cultural ignorance.

The song was written by Edwin Hawkins, a legend of Gospel music. The lyrics emphasize gratitude for God's love, provision and grace.

One of the most controversial moments occurred when eulogists Liaam Winslet and Oscar Diaz addressing the deceased as, "esta puta, esta gran puta, la santa Cecilia, la madre de todas de las putas," that is, "this whore, this great whore, saint Cecila, the mother of all whores."

Such language is understandably shocking to many sensibilities, but context matters.

Within Gentili's community, the word "whore" is a reclamation of a slur used with affection, much like the word "queer" itself.

Organizer Fran Tirado said that if Gentili called you a whore, this was her highest compliment. Here, a word once used for shame is used to honour a motherly heroine.

This esteem was also on display the moment a woman of colour exclaimed "Ave Cecilia!" during the cantor's rendition of "Ave Maria" and danced down the aisle, also prompting conservative ire. But "ave" is a greeting akin "O Cecilia" or "Dear Cecilia."

More importantly, that someone saw the likeness of Mary, mother of compassion, in Gentili should make us hopeful.

Some have criticized the funeral for being "raucous."

Even Fr James Martin, known for his advocacy for LGBTQIA+ Catholics, commented that when in any sacred place "I feel that you should always err on the side of respect and prudence."

But by what standards are we deciding those terms? Continue reading

• Jessica Gerhardt is a singer-songwriter, worship musician, artist, rosary-maker and writer originally from Santa Monica, California.

Alison (pictured) commented in a recent virtual conversation on the website ‘Outreach' in its monthly series of virtual talks ‘Outspoken.'

In the conversation with Fr James Martin, SJ, Alison discussed natural law and conscience, important topics for all Catholics, but especially for LGBTQ Catholics who often face arguments against them using these concepts.

"The notion of natural law is something that is absolutely essential to Christianity," Alison said.

But, he says, we must remember that part of what the Holy Spirit does is make us "participants, on a very small scale, in understanding what creation, which is much more than us, is actually about."

But Alison noted that natural law has, unfortunately, been used in some cases primarily to restrict people, especially LGBTQ people.

However, homosexuality is now seen as what Alison calls a "non-pathological minority variant in the human condition."

And from the moment it becomes clear that some people are bearers of this minority variant, "which is neither good nor bad," their way of being is "going properly to flourish starting with that, instead of in spite of that."

Becoming children of God

Alison also discussed conscience, emphasising that we are becoming children of God rather than mere servants. "I no longer call you servants…but friends," as Jesus says in the Gospel (Jn 15:15).

Alison sees this as a fundamental insight.

We are, all of us, in the process of becoming children of God.

This doesn't mean that we are perfect, but that we can learn to do things wrong and then do things better—much as a child might do under the care of a loving parent.

Alison said love plays a significant role in this process. "Love turns you into who you really are going to be," he says.

In God's eyes, "the ‘you who I'm calling you to be' has to do with how you learn to give yourself away."

Alison also spoke about what it means for LGBTQ people to encounter "discord" with some aspects of church documents and offered pastoral advice about how natural law and conscience can be understood in this context.

Sources

• Outreach

One covered the Entomological Society of America's decision to stop using the terms gypsy moth and gypsy ant.

The other was about a new movie by the director Paul Verhoeven featuring an affair between two 17th-century nuns. "Forgive them, Father, for they have sinned," the article begins. "Repeatedly! Creatively! And wait until you hear what they did with that Virgin Mary statuette."

"When I read that article in the morning over my yoghurt and cranberry juice, I couldn't believe what I was reading.

"It was just disgusting," Father James Martin, a Jesuit priest and writer, told me.

He was talking about the movie, not the moths.

He found it striking that the Times would deferentially cover a language shift meant to show respect for Roma people but would also print a story that relished a film scene in which a holy Catholic object is defiled.

"Anti-Catholicism is the last acceptable prejudice," he wrote on Twitter, linking to an article he wrote 20 years ago that explores why some Americans still treat Catholics with suspicion or contempt.

His argument, then and now, is that it's acceptable in secular, liberal, elite circles—such as The New York Times—to make fun of Catholicism, particularly the Church's emphasis on hierarchy, dogma, and canon law and its teachings related to sex.

Martin is well known in the American Catholic world for his relatively progressive approach to issues that have split the Church, including advocating for greater Catholic acceptance of LGBTQ people.

As a result, he's a frequent target of opprobrium from many of the conservative Catholics who tend to protest anti-Catholicism most loudly, which is why I wanted to talk with Martin.

He is deploying arguments similar to those of his critics.

We are living in an era when newsrooms are revising their style guides to be more sensitive about race, gender, and sexuality; flippant comments perceived as bigotry can cost people their job, and entomological societies are scouring their insect rosters for pejorative names.

Yet, some aspects of identity and belief still seem to be fair game for mockery.

Our conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Emma Green: The New York Times wrote up this new movie called Benedetta and its debut at the Cannes Film Festival. The article—written by a reporter, not a critic—is very taken with the movie's lesbian nun sex. They apparently use a statue of the Virgin Mary to do something that I can't actually say out loud to you because you're a priest. When you read this, why did it strike you as anti-Catholic prejudice?

James Martin: Well, first of all, it's very subjective. One person's critique is another person's anti-Catholicism. Second of all, we have to be careful not to label every single critique of the Church as anti-Catholicism. The Church deserves its critics, especially in the light of the sex-abuse crisis and financial scandals and other things.

What bothered me more than the film was the article. The fact that you had a hard time describing what the article said to me should be an indication of its offensiveness. What if it were directed toward another religion—something holy from Islam or Judaism being used as a sex toy—and that was made fun of in The New York Times? To me, it seemed unnecessarily mocking.

Green: Why do you think it feels more acceptable to some people for The New York Times to write like this about Catholics than about, say, Orthodox Jews?

Martin: I think anti-Catholic tropes get a pass in our culture for a number of reasons, in a way that anti-Semitism, anti-Islam, or even homophobia do not. The tone of the article was: Isn't this funny? Isn't this silly? Isn't Catholicism ridiculous?

Green: Do you think this is because people assume that the Catholic Church is powerful, and many Catholics in America are white and are part of the Christian cultural majority? Is it that making fun of powerful people or institutions doesn't seem out of bounds?

Martin: We've always lived in a largely Protestant culture that has been suspicious of Catholicism—papal infallibility, the Virgin birth, celibate priesthood. And there's a long history in the United States of anti-Catholic tropes. There are many reasons, including distrust of authority, and a misunderstanding of celibacy and chastity.

Green: I'll show my cards, which is that I don't care that much about one movie or the way it's written about in The New York Times. But this sparked my interest because it's arguably an example of the ambient cultural signals that build a sense, especially among some conservative Catholics, that they are culturally on the outs. You're not typically in that camp, grinding the axe around how oppressed Catholics are. In this instance, do you have any sympathy for that point of view?

Martin: Cries of anti-Catholicism are too frequent. Anti-Catholicism is nowhere near as prevalent as racism, homophobia, or anti-Semitism. Not every critique of the Church is an offense against religious liberty. And The New York Times is not anti-Catholic. But from time to time, it's important to remind people that anti-Catholicism is not a myth. Continue reading

James Martin, a priest who advocates for LGBT+ inclusion within the Catholic Church, commented following a Vatican statement that clergy must not bless same-sex unions.

The Vatican recently released an explanatory note insisting that clergy must not bless same-sex unions because God "cannot bless sin".

"Not since the anger over sex abuse in 2002 and 2018 have I seen so many people so demoralised, and ready to leave the church, as I have this week," Martin wrote.

He added: "And not simply LGBT+ people, but their families and friends, a large part of the church."

There has been widespread disappointment among LGBT+ Catholics when the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (CDF) released a statement banning blessings for same-sex couples . The note, signed by Jesuit Luis Ladaria Ferrer and archbishop Giacomo Morandi, argued that same-sex unions are "not ordered to the Creator's plan".

The Vatican insisted that regardless of the sins they commit, God loves all of his children. But, they also said God "does not and cannot bless sin". This reverts to its traditional view that same-gender relationships must not be accepted by the church.

Pope Francis has faced stinging criticism for approving the explanatory note. Mary McAleese, former president of Ireland and an outspoken Catholic campaigner, criticised the Vatican's statement as "unbearably vicious".

McAleese, who has a gay son, wrote to Catholic archbishop Eamon Martin.

In it she said Pope Francis' "chummy words to the press often quite reasonably realise hopes of church reform which are subsequently almost invariably dashed by firm restatements of unchanged church teaching".

With the church facing a walkout of followers, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, head of the Vatican's laity office, said, "The church teaches marriage can only be celebrated between a man and a woman. But, I do want to insist that nobody be excluded from the pastoral care and love of the church."

Sources

• Pink News
• CathNews

They spoke to each other, seated at the table where the pope meets his high-level visitors.

This is the third time Martin, who is known for his pastoral ministry to the LGBT community has met Francis.

Their 30-minute meeting this week is seen as a highly significant public statement of Francis's support and encouragement for Martin's ministry.

Although Martin would not reveal what the pope said to him he did say "we both laughed several times" and that he shared with Francis "the joys and hopes, and the griefs and anxieties, of LGBT Catholics and LGBT people worldwide.

"I also spoke about my own ministry to them and how they feel excluded.

"I saw this audience as a sign of the Holy Father's care for LGBT people.

"I felt encouraged, consoled and inspired ... [Francis's] time with me, in the middle of a busy day and a busy life, seems a clear sign of his deep pastoral care for LGBT Catholics and LGBT people worldwide.

"I was very moved by my encounter with a real pastor."

An Vatican source says Francis is aware Martin is sometimes viciously attacked in the US including by clerics, for his 2017 book "Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter Into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity".

He's also attacked for his lectures and ministry to LGBT people.

Last month, his views have attracted words of caution from Philadelphia's Archbishop Charles Chaput.

"Father Martin has sought in a dedicated way to accompany and support people with same-sex attraction and gender dysphoria," he said recently.

"Many of his efforts have been laudable, and we need to join him in stressing the dignity of persons in such situations.

"At the same time, a pattern of ambiguity in his teachings tends to undermine his stated aims, alienating people from the very support they need for authentic human flourishing.

"Due to the confusion caused by his statements and activities regarding same-sex related (LGBT) issues, I find it necessary to emphasise that Father Martin does not speak with authority on behalf of the Church ...".

Martin thanked Chaput for his careful tone and for encouraging people to not engage in "ad hominem" attacks. He says he's careful not to challenge Church teaching on matters of sexual morality in his writings and talks.

At the same time, he does not focus on same-sex relations and same-sex marriage.

"... I know [these relationships] are both impermissible (and immoral) under church teaching, [but] ... LGBT Catholics have heard this repeatedly. Indeed, often that is the only thing that they hear from their church," Martin says.

Source

• America Magazine
• Catholic News Agency
• Image: LifeSite

He says there is "a pattern of ambiguity" in Martin's writing and teaching.

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,".

"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," Chaput says.

Other bishops have also weighed in on Martin's message regarding homosexuality and Catholicism.

"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," one bishop, Thomas Paprocki wrote last week.

"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.

Father Martin - no doubt unintentionally - inspires hope that the Church's teachings on human sexuality can be changed," the Paprocki's statement continued.

"... On the one hand, [he] correctly expresses God's love for all people, while on the other, he either encourages or fails to correct behavior that separates a person from that very love.

"This is deeply scandalous in the sense of leading people to believe that wrongful behavior is not sinful," Paprocki's statement said.

"This matter is not one of opinion, it is our Lord's own teaching, as we hear in Luke's Gospel: ‘Take heed to yourselves; if your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him,'" the bishop added.

In response Martin said he doesn't want to challenge church teaching.

He said one reason he doesn't focus on same-sex relations and same-sex marriage, which are impermissible (and immoral) under church teaching because LGBT Catholics have heard this repeatedly.

"Indeed, often that is the only thing that they hear from their church," he added.

Instead, Martin said he's trying to encourage Catholics to see LGBT people as more than just sexual beings, to see them in their totality, much as Jesus saw people on the margins.

Chaput responded saying he is sure Martin would agree ‘official' Church teaching is "based on the Word of God and centuries of experience with the human condition.

"Moreover, the point is not to ‘not challenge' what the Church believes about human sexuality, but to preach and teach it with confidence, joy, and zeal.

"Biblical truth liberates; it is never a cause for embarrassment," Chaput said.

Source

1. Catholic News Agency
2. Image: Catholic World Report

It began, most recently, with

• accusations of abuse and harassment against the former cardinal-archbishop of Washington, D.C., Theodore McCarrick
• deepened with the Pennsylvania grand jury report detailing 70 years of abuse in the Commonwealth and,
• intensified with the former Vatican nuncio to the United States Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò's 11-page "testimony" accusing many high-ranking clerics, including Pope Francis, with covering up the crimes.

Catholics have a right to be angry at abusive clergy, at bishops who covered up their crimes and at the sclerotic clerical system that allowed the crimes and cover-ups to go unpunished for decades.

But the intensity of hate and level of anger directed at gay priests are unprecedented in my memory.

What I mean by "gay priests" is ordained priests with a homosexual orientation who are living their promises of celibacy (and in religious orders, their vows of chastity).

That it is necessary even to define the term "gay priest" points out the widespread misinformation about what has become perhaps the most incendiary topic in the current discussion.

A few commentators have even declared that the term "gay" implies that a priest must be sexually active.

As I use the term, a "gay priest" simply means an ordained priest who has a homosexual orientation.

The long-simmering rage against gay priests and the supposed "homosexual subculture" or "Lavender Mafia" has been fanned into a fire that threatens to engulf not only faithful gay priests but also, more broadly, L.G.B.T. people.

While the contempt directed at gay clergy is coming from just a handful of cardinals, bishops and priests, as well as a subset of Catholic commentators, it is as intense as it is dangerous.

"It is time to admit that there is a homosexual subculture within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church that is wreaking great devastation in the vineyard of the Lord," wrote Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison, Wis.

A Swiss bishop, Marian Eleganti, declared that the "networks" of gay priests in the church must be investigated before the "great purification" can begin.

A bishop in Kazakhstan, Athanasius Schneider, listing remedies for clergy abuse, began with this: "cleanse uncompromisingly the Roman Curia and the episcopate from homosexual cliques and networks."

Cardinal Raymond Burke, the influential former archbishop of St. Louis, said, "There is a homosexual culture, not only among the clergy but even within the hierarchy, which needs to be purified at the root."

Michael Hichborn, president of the Lepanto Institute, takes this to its inevitable conclusion, telling the Associated Press that what is needed is "a complete and thoroughgoing removal of all homosexual clergymen in the church." Continue reading

• Fr James Martin, SJ, is editor at large of America

The invitation comes after Martin had speaking engagements cancelled and negative comments leveled at him by far-right Catholic groups.

The ultra-conservatives disapprove of Martin's recently published book on lesbian, gay, bi-, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) Catholics.

Ultra-conservative website Church Militant and right-wing blog "Fr. Z" published articles and videos ahead of Martin's visit decrying his new book: Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community can Enter Into A Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity.

Martin was also criticised on another conservative website, LifeSite. It called for him to be removed from his position as an adviser to the Vatican.

Martin defended himself — as did two bishops and multiple Catholic commentators — from the comments, which also target other Catholic leaders who are encouraging the Church to build bridges with LGBTQ people.

Like Martin, Catholic theologian and teacher Shawn Copeland has had her invitation to speak at a college in Michigan withdrawn. The topic of her talk, which was originally scheduled for Wednesday, was Pope Francis and his "agenda for social justice".

A few days before she was scheduled to speak, Church Militant published an article decrying Copeland for promoting a "pro-homosexual agenda" and citing sections of her theological works where she suggests Christ would embrace LGBTQ people.

Source:

• ThinkProgress
• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: Connecticut Catholic Corner
  

"Building A Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity", was written by James Martin.

Martin is a Jesuit priest and best-selling author.

"The Church needs a book like this," Cardinal Kevin Farrell wrote in its blurb.

Farrell leads the Vatican office on laity, family, and life issues.

He says it will "help bishops, priests, pastoral associates and all church leaders more compassionately minister to the LGBT community".

"It will also help LGBT Catholics feel more at home in what is, after all, their church," he added.

Although the book calls on the Church to be more respectful and compassionate towards gay people, it does not advocate for any changes to doctrine.

Nor does it discuss same-sex marriage.

A number of senior clergy have shown support for the book in its blurb.

As an example, Newark Cardinal Joseph Tobin, wrote:

The "... book marks an essential step in inviting church leaders to minister with more compassionand in reminding LGBT Catholics that they are as much a part of our church as any other."

Bishop Robert McElory of San Diego also supports the book.

He wrote: "The gospel demands that LGBT Catholics must be genuinely loved and treasured in the life of the church. They are not."

Martin has often written about the role of gays and lesbians in the church, and about the need for the church to do more to welcome them.

Source

• The Salt Lake Tribune
• LifeSite
• Image: The University of Scranton