Viewpoints

The LGBT community has often felt ostracized by various religious groups, specifically the Catholic Church. In 2013, Pope Francis made headlines by saying he wouldn’t judge homosexuals, which started a new process of reconciling the Catholic Church with the LGBT community. Reverend James Martin, SJ, a Jesuit priest and author of Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter Into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity, discusses how these two groups can treat each other with fairness and dignity. Martin points out that the church has always been opposed to same-sex relations because of homophobia. The Catholic Church and its members were often afraid of and made uncomfortable by gay people, and that was magnified by the church due to religious beliefs. As a result, many LGBT people have felt marginalized by the church. But, Martin says it is time to change this. He gives a few key pieces of advice to help include LGBT people into the Catholic Church. The most impor