Pope Francis Names Liberal Fr. James Martin, SJ as Vatican Communications Consultant

  • Thread starter Thread starter john1513
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
He is one counselor among many. There is no denying, he is one of the better communicators in the American Church.

Appointment of Consulters of the Secretariat for Communication

The Holy Father has appointed as Consulters of the Secretariat for Communication the Rev. Fr. Ivan Maffeis, under-secretary for the Italian Episcopal Conference; Fr. José María La Porte, dean of the Faculty of Institutional Social Communication of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross; Dr. Peter Gonsalves, S.D.B., dean of the Faculty of Social Communication Sciences of the Pontifical Salesian University; Fr. Eric Salobir, O.P., Promoter General for social communications for the Order of Preachers; Fr. James Martin, S.J., Jesuit Magazine America; Fr. Jacquineau Azétsop, S.J., dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Pontifical Gregorian University; and Dr. Paolo Peverini, lecturer in Semiotics at the LUISS “Guido Carli”; Dr. Fernando Giménez Barriocanal, president and delegator advisor of Radio Popolar Cadena COPE; Dr. Ann Carter, Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications; Mr. Graham Ellis, deputy director of BBC Radio; Dr. Michael P. Warsaw, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of EWTN Global Catholic Network; Dr. Dino Cataldo Dell’Accio, Chief ICT Auditor at the United Nations; and Dr. Michael Paul Unland, executive director of the Catholic Media Council (CA.ME.CO.).
 
Inisfallen said:
Sounds good to me.

I like Father Martin. I’m a fan. He’s apparently been appointed to a body that consults on Vatican communications.

Martin is a great communicator. He understands media, and messaging, and how to get the word out there in today’s world. He’s a good writer, a funny guy when he wants to be, and totally serious when he needs to be.

Appointing him to this body is a good call.
Click to expand...
Agreed! I love his writing, both in his books and on his Twitter account.
 
J_Peterson said:
Here is a better story. Based on what I’ve seen on facebook, the Church Militant types are losing their minds over this. A gentleman from EWTN was also appointed, I don’t know him and forget his name though.

Father James Martin appointed by Pope Francis to Vatican department for communications

ETA: I initially didn’t bother clicking on the CM link for obvious reasons but I’m glad I did. I somehow missed that he was releasing a book:

Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter Into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion and Sensitivity

I’m a bit excited to read that. I have his Jesus, a Pilgrimage book but haven’t read it yet.
Click to expand...
You must read that book. Father Martin gives excellent meditations on the life and teachings of Jesus based on his (Fr. Martin’s) pilgrimage following the footsteps of Jesus in the Holy Land. I have read it twice, once before going on my trip to the Holy Land, and just now finished it for Lent. I also have it on my e-reader. That way I can read parts of it over again whenever I want.
 
Pope Francis has appointed 13 consulters to the Vatican’s Secretariat for Communications.

More…
 
qui_est_ce said:
You must read that book. Father Martin gives excellent meditations on the life and teachings of Jesus based on his (Fr. Martin’s) pilgrimage following the footsteps of Jesus in the Holy Land. I have read it twice, once before going on my trip to the Holy Land, and just now finished it for Lent. I also have it on my e-reader. That way I can read parts of it over again whenever I want.
Click to expand...
I read it and liked it very much.
 
Martin grew up in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, United States, and attended Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business in 1982 and worked in corporate finance at General Electric for six years. Dissatisfied with the corporate world, he became more deeply involved in the Catholic Church and decided to enter the Society of Jesus (more commonly known as the Jesuits) in 1988, and was ordained a priest in 1999. In addition to his work at America magazine, Martin has written or edited more than 10 books, many of which are largely about his own experiences. He is a frequent commentator for CNN, NPR, Fox News Channel, Time magazine, Huffington Post and other news outlets, and has written several op-ed pieces and blogged for The New York Times.
 
I think that America magazine and Lifesite news are at opposite ends of the Catholic communications spectrum. Doug Mainwaring takes a wary view of Fr. Martin’s appointment here.
 
JimG said:
I think that America magazine and Lifesite news are at opposite ends of the Catholic communications spectrum. Doug Mainwaring takes a wary view of Fr. Martin’s appointment here.
Click to expand...
Probably true, but I’m more comfortable at the America end of the spectrum, probably because of five years of Jesuit education (and the lifelong influence of a couple of Jesuits in the family).

I think it’s healthy to have multiple viewpoints in the body advising the Vatican on communications.
 
JimG said:
I think that America magazine and Lifesite news are at opposite ends of the Catholic communications spectrum. Doug Mainwaring takes a wary view of Fr. Martin’s appointment here.
Click to expand...
Not a very well written article. It basically centers around the “I don’t like him argument” without bring up anything specific about what he has written that is objectionable. My guess is that Doug is pandering to his audience.
 
Catholic Culture.org even refers to him as a supporter of Gay Rights and mentions him receiving an award from a pro-homosexual group. I think that says quite alot.
 
Seamus_L said:
Catholic Culture.org even refers to him as a supporter of Gay Rights and mentions him receiving an award from a pro-homosexual group. I think that says quite alot.
Click to expand...
He has been critical of ordinary, orthodox Catholics when it comes to homosexuality. For example, he tweeted:

“People who say ‘Love the sinner, hate the sin’ when it comes to being gay, forget that being gay is not a sin.”

With all due respect to him, the tweet is off-base and insulting. He’s suggesting that people who hold this position conflate “the sin” with “being gay”. In all my life, “the sin” has always referred to instances where people turn away from God’s will. That is a tragedy, which we should rightly hate, because we ought to love them and desire their ultimate good. But the tweet suggests that we are already condemning them imply for having a propensity to sin, which is absurd, since we all have various propensities for sin.
 
Havard said:
He has been critical of ordinary, orthodox Catholics when it comes to homosexuality. For example, he tweeted:

“People who say ‘Love the sinner, hate the sin’ when it comes to being gay, forget that being gay is not a sin.”

With all due respect to him, the tweet is off-base and insulting. He’s suggesting that people who hold this position conflate “the sin” with “being gay”. In all my life, “the sin” has always referred to instances where people turn away from God’s will. That is a tragedy, which we should rightly hate, because we ought to love them and desire their ultimate good. But the tweet suggests that we are already condemning them imply for having a propensity to sin, which is absurd, since we all have various propensities for sin.
Click to expand...
It someone is condemning gays for their propensity, that indeed would be wrong. I have never seem where someone was condemned for their propensity though.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top