I just recently finished reading Fr Martin’s Book, Building A Bridge.
In the book he emphatically states his position on upholding Catholic Doctrine on marriage and sexuality.
His attempt in the book, is to try and remove hateful words exchanged between both Catholics and the LGBT groups.
In fact in the chapter called, “Respect,” he speaks to the LGBT community about their disrespect for the Magisterium, Bishops and Clergy of the Catholic Church and how they must stop the mudslinging.
At the same time, he provides the reader of how LGBT Catholics and their parents are feeling when it comes to Church teaching.
Some of the words, such as those in the Catechism,
2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.” They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.
Fr Martin tries to explain how a gay person, or the parent of a gay child, would read the words, “that they’re desires are intrinsically disordered.” Looking at the words from their perspective puts up a mental barrier toward dialogue and respect of the person.
He then quotes the next part from the Catechism;
2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.
For LGBT Catholics, this contradicts how they’re actually treated and lack of respect and even cruelty has been the experience for them throughout most of Church history.
Jim