Nearly 10,000 people have signed a petition to remove pro LGBTQ+ priest James Martin from addressing a top Catholic Church event in Dublin next month.
According to Pink News, the priest who has been outspoken on his support for the LGBTQ+ community, is due to speak at the World Meeting of Families, which is dedicated to reflecting on the importance of marriage and family life.
Website TFP.ie, or Tradition Family Property, started a petition to have the priest's invitation to speak at the event cancelled.
They call for him to be "uninvited", with part of the letter reading:
"The hosting by your Archdiocese of the World Meeting of Families should be a joyful occasion for Ireland. The choice of Dublin as venue by Pope Francis should serve as a consolation for Ireland at a difficult time and is of course the effective reason for the Pope’s pastoral visit.
We are disappointed and greatly concerned that Fr. James Martin, S.J. will speak at the event, casting a shadow over its proceedings. Fr. Martin is well known for his dissent from Church teaching on sexual morality. He has articulated views which condone homosexual behaviour in contradiction of the Magisterium."
The letter was directed to Dublin's archbishop Diarmuid Martin.
Fr. James Martin spoke to America Magazine in June, saying "why wouldn't we want to help baptized Catholics feel included in their own church? And the argument that they’re ‘sinful’ is beside the point because we’re all sinful. We need to see L.G.B.T. people as full members of the church, by virtue of their baptism. They need to know that God loves them and their church accepts them.”
“The message to L.G.B.T. Catholics seems straightforward: you're an important part of the church,” he continued.
You can read his full interview here.
