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Bishop Paprocki: Archbishop Chaput has provided a helpful caution about Father James Martin

Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois issued the following statement in support of Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput, who cautioned Catholics in his diocese about what Father James Martin discusses at his talks, social media posts, and writings. Father Martin spoke at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia Sept. 17.

“Archbishop Chaput has provided a helpful caution to Catholics about Father James Martin. On the one hand, Father Martin 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.

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. 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.
“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.’” (Luke 17:3)
frjimanderson
Many thanks Bishop!