Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory Invites Homosexualist Fr. James Martin to Speak

News:

by Stephen Wynne • ChurchMilitant.com • September 14, 2018

Pro-gay Jesuit invited to speak in archdiocese

You are not signed in as a Premium user; you are viewing the free version of this program. Premium users have access to full-length programs with limited commercials and receive a 10% discount in the store! Sign up for only one day for the low cost of $1.99. Click the button below.

See All Plans

ATLANTA (ChurchMilitant.com) - Celebrity Jesuit Fr. James Martin is heading to Georgia, courtesy of pro-gay Abp. Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, Georgia.

On Friday, Martin announced on Twitter that Abp. Gregory has invited him to speak in October at two Atlanta-area locations.

"Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta has graciously invited me to his archdiocese to speak," Martin tweeted, "so I will be speaking at St. Thomas More Parish (the Jesuit parish) on Sat. Oct 20 and at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on the morning of Sun. Oct 21."

Gregory's personal invitation comes as no surprise to faithful Catholics, as he is one of Martin's most prominent supporters — even publishing a review for the pro-gay Jesuit's 2017 book Building a Bridge.

"Martin has written a wonderful book that challenges the institutional church to be in dialogue with the LGBT community," the archbishop wrote. "This has challenged a lot of people, because you don't want to build a bridge if you already think you're right. But this is where we have to go next."

In Texas, Gregory worked with McCarrick, then-archbishop of Washington, D.C., to deliberately weaken the Dallas Charter — the set of procedures established to combat clerical sex abuse.

Gregory has a long history of pro-gay initiatives during his time in Atlanta.

He has opened his chancery to retreats for Fortunate Families, a pro-gay group which associates with dissident organizations DignityUSA and New Ways Ministry (condemned by the Vatican), as well as other Catholics openly critical of Church teaching on chastity for those with same-sex attraction. The archbishop says Mass and delivers the homily for retreat participants.

Gregory has given New Ways Ministry and DignityUSA a permanent home at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Atlanta, despite their censure by many Catholic bishops for open opposition to Church teaching.

For years, he has allowed the Shrine to sponsor and participate in annual gay "pride" events.

"The Shrine has always welcomed all of God's children," according to the parish website. "During PRIDE week each year, we celebrate God's diversity by maintaining a booth in the park."

Gregory ignores the outcry among faithful Atlanta Catholics over the Shrine's pro-gay activities.

In August, the archbishiop appointed Shrine pastor, Msgr. Henry Gracz, to serve as "Spiritual Director for Victims" of predator priests. Faithful Atlanta Catholics blasted the move, pointing out that he named a homosexualist priest minister to victims of clerical sex abuse — which statistics confirm is overwhelmingly homosexually-rooted.

Gregory has been slammed for hypocrisy in the wake of the scandal involving former Washington, D.C. Cdl. Theodore McCarrick. In an Aug. 9 video statement on McCarrick's resignation, the archbishop said he sympathized with the outrage over clerical sex abuse, but added that he is personally hurt owing to his closeness to the serial sexual predator: "I am hurt, because my respect and fraternal esteem for Theodore McCarrick were clearly misplaced."

But, critics note, Gregory's ties to McCarrick cast doubt on his claims of ignorance.

Abp. Wilton Gregory with former Cdl. Theodore McCarrick

"Archbishop Gregory may be telling the complete truth here," wrote Rod Dreher, senior editor at The American Conservative, "but I find it hard to believe that a bishop who was so high up in the leadership of the American bishops — he was head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops — never once heard a rumor about McCarrick, or was given reason to suspect that something dirty might be going on with him."

A protégé of homosexualist Cdl. Joseph Bernardin of Chicago, Gregory was president of the USCCB from 2001 to 2004. During his tenure, The Boston Globe "Spotlight" team broke the story of rampant clerical sex abuse and cover-up in the archdiocese of Boston, forcing the U.S. bishops to convene an emergency meeting in Dallas in June 2002.

In Texas, Gregory worked with McCarrick, then-archbishop of Washington, D.C., to deliberately weaken the Dallas Charter — the set of procedures established to combat clerical sex abuse.

McCarrick, Gregory and their allies intentionally diluted the charter by exempting bishops from its provisions, while excluding seminarians and other adults from its protections. Whereas the original draft bound all "clerics" — not just priests and deacons, but bishops, as well — McCarrick saw to it that in its final form, the Dallas Charter governed the conduct of only priests and deacons. As head of the USCCB, Gregory could have stopped McCarrick's machinations; instead, he did nothing.

Besides using the archdiocese of Atlanta as a platform to promote dissent against Church teaching, Gregory has distinguished himself by his lavish spending. In 2014, he moved into a 6,196-square-foot mansion in Buckhead, one of the priciest neighborhoods in all of Georgia. The Tudor-style manor was built at a cost of $2.2 million — all of it paid for by Atlanta parishioners. After an outcry against his self-indulgence, Gregory sold the mansion and apologized.

Mindful of Gregory's penchant for luxury and his ongoing attempts to homosexualize their archdiocese, faithful Atlanta-area Catholics are being urged to combat the archbishop's errors by cutting off funding to his chancery.

Have a news tip? Submit news to our tip line.

We rely on you to support our news reporting. Please donate today.

Recommended Shows

Only On

premium

Pillars of the Church

Holy Orders • min

9 : St. Dominic (1170-1221)

Only On

premium

Right Reason

Season Two • min

13 : Tyranny of Relativism

Only On

premium

The One True Faith: Revisited

Season One • min

6: Purgatory

By commenting on ChurchMilitant.com you acknowledge you have read and agreed to our comment posting guidelines

Become Premium Today!

Choose a subscription period:

Monthly: $10 a month
Quarterly: $30 every 3 months
Yearly: $120 a year

To pay in advance without a subscription, click here
If you have a gift code you would like to redeem, click here

Create your account:

Email Address

Password (at least 8 characters)

Re-Enter Password

Terms of Agreement & Cancellation Policy

When you place your order, your Church Militant Premium membership will be activated. Cancel at any time to avoid future billing. By clicking the "Continue" button, you agree to the ChurchMilitant.com Terms of Use and ChurchMilitant.com Privacy Policy. You also agree that your subscription will automatically renew monthly, quarterly or annually based upon your subscription option selection above at the current full price on the date of each renewal, until you cancel.

I agree to the terms & conditions.