PLYMOUTH MEETING, Philadelphia (LifeSiteNews) — Father Thomas O’Donald of the Epiphany of Our Lord Catholic Church in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, defended his decision to invite the notoriously pro-LGBT Father James Martin, S.J., to give a talk on his upcoming memoir at the parish, which is also Martin’s native parish, on February 7.
The priest emphasized in an email to LifeSiteNews that he accepts and teaches the Church’s teaching on sexuality and has reservations about Martin’s numerous statements that have confused the faithful. However, he said that he invited the Jesuit to discuss only his forthcoming book, Work in Progress: Confessions of a busboy, dishwasher, caddy, usher, factory worker, bank teller, corporate tool, and priest, and his upbringing in the area, not LGBT issues.
A Tradition, Family, and Property (TFP) petition urging Fr. O’Donald to cancel the event has already collected over 15,000 signatures.
“We are hosting Father James Martin at Epiphany for a narrow and specific purpose: to speak about his upbringing in Plymouth Meeting, his roots at Epiphany as his home parish, and his new memoir. This is not an event on LGBTQ issues, ‘same-sex marriage,’ or any contested moral questions,” the priest told LifeSite.
Martin has a long history of contradicting Church teaching on homosexuality and transgenderism. The Jesuit priest frequently speaks of “loving LGBTQ people” but he equivocates to downplay the fact that he endorses what the Church condemns: gravely sinful homosexual behavior.
Within the last year alone, Martin has compared school children reading books promoting homosexual “marriage” to Jesus sharing parables, blasphemously compared former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg’s – who is “married” to another man – “parenting” to the Holy Trinity, and even celebrated a confirmation Mass for homosexual ABC News correspondent Gio Benitez, who is also in a homosexual “marriage.”
Martin has criticized Catholic teaching that homosexuality is disordered, calling it “cruel,” suggested that Catholic doctrine on homosexuality is not “authoritative,” cast doubt on the biblical condemnation of sodomy, and falsely claimed that homosexuality is “the way God created” people. He has further said he hopes homosexual “husbands” will one day feel comfortable to kiss each other during the sign of peace at Mass.
Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, accused Martin of “heresy” in 2022.
READ: Fr. James Martin celebrates Confirmation Mass for homosexual ABC News anchor
Fr. O’Donald told LifeSite, “I not only accept but actively teach and preach the Church’s teaching on human sexuality and marriage as taught in the Catechism and the Magisterium, including the Church’s teaching that sexual acts belong within marriage between one man and one woman, and that homosexual acts are contrary to the natural law.”
Indeed, the Catholic Church formally condemns homosexual activity and urges homosexuals to live in chastity.
The Catechism teaches that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered” and “contrary to the natural law.” The text is very clear that homosexual activity can never be approved and repeats that “(h)omosexual persons are called to chastity.” Homosexual acts are mortal sins; therefore, anyone who commits these sins and does not repent through the sacrament of Confession is in danger of hell.
The Catechism adds that the homosexual inclination is “objectively disordered.”
Fr. O’Donald continued:
At the same time, hosting Fr. Martin for this limited talk is not an endorsement of every opinion or pastoral emphasis he has expressed publicly. I have serious reservations about some of his public commentary and the confusion it has caused. Nevertheless, he is a priest in good standing and a native son of this parish.
While Martin may be technically in “good standing,” he has nevertheless repeatedly contradicted the teaching of the Catholic Church and promoted grave errors about sexuality.
O’Donald noted that Martin’s talk was approved by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, with the explicit permission of Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez and Father Philip G. Bochanski, the vicar general and moderator of the archdiocesan curia, who was previously the executive director of Courage International, an apostolate that helps Catholics struggling with homosexual inclinations.
TFP, in its petition to Fr. O’Donald to disinvite Martin, which had already surpassed its original goal of 15,000 signatures, noted Martin’s “open revolt” against 2,000 years of Catholic teaching and the scandal his talk would cause to the faithful.
“I prayerfully urge you to disinvite Fr. James Martin as a speaker on February 7, 2026,” the petition reads. “Fr. Martin’s public pro-LGBT activism and open revolt against Catholic teaching causes scandal, especially among young Catholics.”
“Fr. Martin’s promotion of ‘pride’ is at odds with the Bible, natural law, Papal documents, the Fathers of the Church, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and a litany of saints spanning 2,000 years,” they added. “Please find a replacement speaker who respects God’s law.”
TFP highlighted that their previous protests have successfully led to the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre disinviting Martin from speaking at its 2017 gala in New York City, the Catholic University of America rescinding its invitation for the Jesuit to speak on campus that same year, and Holy Family University canceling the Jesuit’s planned 2025 commencement speech.
READ: Catholic university cancels heterodox Fr. James Martin’s commencement speech after student backlash
To sign TFP’s petition, click here.
Contact information for respectful communication:
Rev. Thomas D. O’Donald: Pastor, Epiphany of Our Lord Church
Phone: 610-828-8634
Email: [email protected]
Archbishop Nelson J. Perez’s office
Phone: 215-587-0506
Email: [email protected]
