Bishop Strickland: Fr James Martin's Blasphemy Must Stop!

 


Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, is a clear voice for the Catholic faith. Perhaps one might say the clearest voice, at least currently. His outspokenness and clarity has not, as one might hope, brought him universal acclaim. Mike Lewis at the popesplaining site Where Peter Is, for example, has called for him to be removed after the brave bishop called out Pope Francis' constant undermining of the deposit of faith and suggested that we should follow Jesus - an idea which should not really be that radical, but under this papacy, sadly, is. Of course, this tact from Mr. Lewis just serves to show how poor his understanding of the episcopacy actually is.

When I visited Chicago in April, Bishop Strickland's name was heard often and loudly. It was at the top of the list of "good bishops" from clergy and laity alike. I found this very heartening: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish" (Jn 10:27). The sheep are listening and they are encouraged by the voice of the Good Shepherd, especially in these dark days when they feel attacked and oppressed by the very men who are supposed to care for them. It seemed very clear to me that this was the sensus fidei so often used to justify apostasy in these days. If only our leaders were open to this sensus fidei, or the sensus fidei that led more young Catholics than ever before on pilgrimage to Chartres earlier this year. Alas it seems the only sensus fidei that matters is one that denigrates the faith and leads the Church away from Jesus. Quel dommage!

This week the Bishop of Tyler called out the heretical dissident LGBT promoting Jesuit Father James Martin for blasphemously claiming that celebrating “Pride Month” is compatible with devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to whom the month of June is traditionally dedicated in Catholic devotion.

“This blasphemy must stop, God loves every person even the most sinful, but saying sinful acts are compatible with the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ contradicts Christ’s call to go & sin no more.”

I could not help but think this is precisely what EVERY bishop should be doing.

Bishop Strickland’s comment came in response to a series of tweets by Martin that were highlighted in an article on Breitbart which underlined the incompatibility of the problematic priest’s tweets with Catholic moral teaching on marriage, sexuality, sin, and repentance.



Bishop Strickland is 100% spot on - but his outspokenness will not make him friends. He consistently shows up the problem with the other bishops' failure to address Martin's blasphemy. The issue is dealt with head on by Catholic Answers apologist and speaker Trent Horn in this video:


Trent is far from a radical agitator. He is intelligent, careful and respectful. But you can tell how exasperated he is in this video. Fr Martin is wrong - what he says damages the faith and yet the ONLY one to speak out is Bishop Strickland.

It seems clear to me that if the faith it is failing it is failing because of men like James Martin. Men who do not believe what the Church teaches (as Trent points out so lucidly in his presentation above) but openly claim to speak for her.

If Father James Martin is right, then the Church is wrong. He claims the Church is wrong openly. So we have a choice to make brothers and sisters.

Our leaders need to have the courage, like Bishop Strickland, to stand up for Jesus.

Please pray for the Bishop of Tyler and for James Martin.




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