Fr. James Martin to Speak at Catholic Xavier University in Ohio

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CINCINNATI (ChurchMilitant.com) - A pro-gay priest has again been invited to speak to Catholic college graduates.

At Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, well-known pro-LGBT Jesuit Fr. James Martin will speak at the undergraduate commencement ceremony the morning of May 18.

Father Martin has a history of pro-LGBT messaging. Most recently, Martin defended a blasphemous pro-gay image that added rainbow-colored halos to an image of Our Lady with the Child Jesus — specifically, the "Black Madonna" of Częstochowa, a revered icon in Poland which is said to date back to the time of the Apostles.

Martin said on Twitter:

After all, the Blessed Mother and Jesus are frequently depicted in clothes, and with images, intended to help people in a certain locale, or among a certain group, to feel closer to them. A rainbow is an obvious way to try to bring them into the devotional life of LGBT people.

The Student Action arm of Tradition, Family, Property (TFP) has launched an online petition calling on university administrators to cancel Fr. Martin's speech. At publication time, the TFP petition had nearly 12,000 signatures.

Church Militant reached out to TFP for comment. After the initial publication of this article, TFP's John Ritchie told Church Militant in an email that, in addition to the online petition, TFP is also working on a protest:

The TFP is planning a peaceful protest with the help of concerned Catholics in the Cincinnati area. Details are being discussed right now. The prayerful protest has three goals: to serve as a loving act of reparation for the insults and sins hurled against the Immaculate Hearts of Jesus and Mary; to proclaim our fidelity to 2,000 years of consistent Church teaching; to alert young Catholics about the grave errors of Fr. James Martin.

Ritchie said that Catholics should be concerned about Fr. Martin being commencement speaker because "[c]ommencement speakers are always presented as role models. Students naturally look up to them. But it's impossible for Fr. Martin to be a true Catholic role model because he rejects Catholic morality and promotes the rainbow revolution, a movement that attacks God, human nature and family values."

Father Martin is editor-at-large of America magazine and consultor to the Vatican's Dicastery for Communication.

Martin has spoken at several colleges' commencements over the years. He served as commencement speaker at Loyola University in New Orleans in May 2018; at Misericordia University in Scranton, Pennsylvania in December 2017; and at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama in May 2017.

Back in May 2012, Fr. Martin was commencement speaker and honorary degree recipient at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia.

Father James Martin:

• asserts that chastity is not required of homosexuals

• states that Catholics should reverence gay "marriage"

• supports transgenderism in children

• claims racism is "our greatest injustice" — not abortion

• supports priest who promotes gay "marriage" and women "priests"

• publicly derided Catholics adhering to Church teaching on homosexuality as "homophobic" and "close-minded"

• affirms the idea of active gays kissing at Mass

• claims former homosexuals don't lead a fully "integrated life"

• says censured pro-gay nun Sr. Jeannine Gramick is worthy of sainthood

• suggests that God created homosexuals that way

• publicly welcomes esteem of pro-gay groups condemned by the Holy See

• promotes homosexuals' ordination to the priesthood

• supports a scholar who proclaims "Jesus is queer"

• praises defrocked priest Fr. Gregory Baum, who spent 30 years in a gay affair and spent his life attacking Church teaching on birth control

• lauds pro-gay dissident Bp. Thomas Gumbleton, banned in some dioceses

Church Militant's complete resource page on Fr. James Martin and his scandalous statements can be viewed here.

Xavier University is a Catholic institution run by the Jesuits — the same religious order in which Fr. Martin is a member.

In the lead-up to the May 2013 commencement, some students at Xavier protested the fact that Anthony Muñoz, a former Cincinnati Bengals player, was going to be the commencement speaker.

They objected to having Muñoz as speaker because of his connections to Citizens for Community Values, an organization opposed to same-sex "marriage."

The president of LGBT student group Xavier Alliance told the press at the time, "This CCV group is arguing that my LGBTQ friends and colleagues are societal and individual degenerates, and that's not a welcoming stance."

University president Fr. Michael Graham, a Jesuit priest, apparently met with Muñoz in the wake of students' complaints.

After the meeting, Fr. Graham announced that Muñoz would remain the commencement speaker, saying, "Anthony is a deeply Christian man who believes that he has been commanded to love and respect people without hesitation, including people with whom he may disagree on political or social issues, and that bias or discrimination against anyone is simply wrong."

Church Militant previously wrote on Xavier University in November 2017, noting that a group of students had put out a YouTube video calling on the university to pay for their contraception.

In 2012, university president Fr. Graham caused an uproar when he announced an end to contraceptive coverage for employees. Father Graham quickly reversed the decision after backlash from faculty.

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