By PAUL WIRTH Diocesan Communications Staff
The Diocese of Allentown received many comments after the Jesuit Center in Wernersville announced that Father James Martin, S.J., will be giving a seminar on showing welcome and respect for homosexual Catholics and their families.
Some of the comments were negative, saying Father Martin should not be allowed to appear. Others were positive, saying the welcome of homosexuals and other marginalized Catholics is a topic that deserves more discussion and consideration.
Bishop Alfred Schlert gave prayerful consideration to the issue and ultimately granted permission to the Jesuits for Father Martin to speak on the topic of welcoming, but not to infer interpretations of the Church’s authentic moral or sacramental teachings that will confuse the faithful.
“I recognize that many people feel strongly about this issue, and may disapprove of Father Martin’s visit,” Bishop Schlert said. “By our baptism we are called to be welcoming of all people, especially the marginalized, following the example of Jesus.
“To offer a welcome does not make one ‘soft’ on the moral teachings of the Church,” he said. “Welcoming does not imply that all may approach the sacraments, or that someone will not hear a challenging message in a homily. Welcoming that does not lead to the truth is a false accompaniment.”
Bishop Schlert emphasized that the church is accepting of everyone, but being ‘welcomed’ does not exempt someone from living in accord with Church doctrines.
This means that homosexual people are called to be chaste. The same is true for unmarried heterosexual people. Also, within the sacrament of marriage, husbands and wives are called to be faithful to each other, to be chaste in their fidelity to one another.
During his public ministry, Jesus did not ignore the centurion, but rather, He cured his servant. Jesus did not rebuke the tax collector Zacchaeus, who was sitting in a tree. Rather, He shocked the crowd by asking to be invited to Zacchaeus’s house for dinner. The father loved both his sons in the Gospel, the faithful one as well as the prodigal one. In each case, Jesus called for a radical change of heart, a conversion from old ways to the freedom of the Gospel.
“For us Catholics, it is our obligation to welcome all people to join us in following the teachings of our Church,” Bishop Schlert said, “and to experience with us the love, truth and forgiveness of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”
