A New Approach from Pope Francis to the LGBTQ Community

As is known, Francisco often makes personal phone calls to priests and parishioners, but what is less well known is his habit of sending personal and handwritten messages, usually in Spanish, and often in response to letters that reach him. And while it sometimes explicitly requests that the message be confidential, it usually leaves it up to the recipient to decide whether they want to publish the content. On this occasion, Father James Martin, after consulting people who know the Pope, decided to reveal the content of the letter he received on June 21.

“Our Heavenly Father approaches each of his children with love, each of them. His heart is open to all ”, wrote Francis to the Jesuit on the occasion of the Catholic pastoral conference “Screening of the ministry for LGBTQ Catholics” held yesterday.

The letter, which the priest posted today via his Twitter account, is a new approach by the Pope to the community and also one more example of the fluid relationship with Martin, who a few weeks ago informed Francis about the conference in a private letter and explained his purpose: to encourage people who serve Catholics LGBTQ.

Martin, one of the priests best known in the United States for his advocacy of gay Catholics, yesterday led the webinar on ministry to parishioners in the community of 1,000 participants.

The letter, which arrived a few days before the conference, illustrates the explicit approval of his work, and his words encourage others in this work. The letter is therefore an unusually direct and warm affirmation of Martin’s ministry., very popular these days for starring in the documentary titled “Building a Bridge” produced by Martin Scorsese, in which he shows his daily work to achieve the inclusion of LGBTQ Catholics.

Although the first paragraph of the letter is familiar, even humorous, and makes reference to Martin’s nephew who took Francisco’s name for confirmation and how he dressed that day in the stockings with Jorge’s face Bergoglio, the rest of the the text refers to its ministry of awareness to LGBTQ people.

“The ‘style’ of God – writes the Pope – has three features: closeness, compassion and tenderness. This is how he approaches each of us. Thinking about your pastoral work, I see that you are continually seeking to imitate this style of God. You are a priest for everyone, as well as God is the Father of all. I pray that you continue in this way, being close, compassionate and with great tenderness “, says François.

“I pray for your faithful and your ‘parishioners’ – writes the Pope -, all those whom the Lord brings you closer to so that you take care of them, protect them, make them grow in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ “.

Francis is well informed of the work that Father Martin is doing and has already had other public gestures of encouragement and support, such as when he received him in private audience at the Vatican Library on September 30, 2019. Now, his letter of the day before the conference is in the same vein.

Addressing him as “Dear brother”, Francis praises the priest for his work: “I want to thank you for your pastoral zeal and your ability to be close to people, with this closeness that Jesus had and which reflects the closeness to God.

The conference Martin led yesterday, aimed at people who serve LGBTQ Catholics, included a bishop and dozens of clergy. The priest explained that what makes his ministry unusual is that it focuses on “welcoming”.

Martin pointed out a few days ago in an interview with The Washington Post which in no way seeks to question the teachings of the Church but rather focuses on providing forums for the Catholic clergy to discuss their gender identity, “so that the faces of homosexuals are better known”.

Francisco has made historic statements about LGBTQ people in an attempt to encourage acceptance, such as in 2013 when speaking to a group of reporters in the middle of a tour he said about gay people: “Who am I to judge? “. He spoke in a similar vein in September last year, when after a public hearing at the Vatican, he approached a group of parents of LGBTQ children and said: “God loves his children as they are.”

So, with his public comments, he offered a more positive and tolerant stance towards LGBTQ people.

“I share the Holy Father’s warm message to encourage and inspire all in the Church who serve LGBTQ Catholics and also remind LGBTQ people around the world of God’s closeness, compassion and tenderness,” Martin wrote. on his Twitter account.

The full letter dated June 26, 2021:

James Martin, SJ

Dear brother,

Thank you for your email and for the photos. I thanked your nephew for his kindness to me and for choosing Francisco’s name. . . and congratulate him on the stockings. . . He made me laugh. Tell him I pray for him and please do it for me.

Regarding your PD, I want to thank you for your pastoral zeal and your ability to be close to people, with this closeness that Jesus had and which reflects the closeness to God. Our Heavenly Father approaches each and every one of his children with love. Her heart is open to all. It’s Father. God’s “style” has three features: closeness, compassion and tenderness. This is how he approaches each of us. “

Thinking about your pastoral work, I see that you are continually seeking to imitate this style of God. You are a priest for all, as God is the Father of all. I pray that you will continue in this way, being close, compassionate and with great tenderness.

And I pray for your faithful, your “parishioners”, all those whom the Lord places in you to take care of them, to protect them, to make them grow in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Don’t forget to pray for me. May Jesus bless you and may the Blessed Virgin take care of you.

Fraternally,

Francois

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