During the World Meeting of Families gathering in August at the RDS in Dublin, one of the best attended talks was that by Fr James Martin, an American Jesuit. His topic was entitled 'Showing welcome and respect in our parishes for LGBT people and their families'.
Earlier last year, Fr Martin wrote a book entitled 'Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT community can enter a relationship of respect, compassion and sensitivity'. The theme and content of his talk in Dublin drew from his earlier written work.
In this revised and expanded paperback of his ground breaking book, Fr Martin makes the surprisingly controversial argument that Catholic leaders should stop seeing the LGBT community as "the other" and instead reach out to them with greater compassion and openness.
This new edition includes a new introduction along with forty percent new material, including stories from LGBT Catholics, and responses to the common questions about ministry to LGBT people. Father Martin turns to three virtues from the Catechism of the Catholic Church—"respect, compassion, and sensitivity"—as a model for how both the Catholic leadership and LGBT Catholics can move together on a "two-way bridge" toward reconciliation and love.
This revolutionary book also includes spiritual and biblical resources for the LGBT community and their families, friends, and allies. Father Martin offers biblical passages, accompanied by meditations and questions for reflection, to help LGBT people find their place in the church and enter into a deeper relationship with God. Building a Bridge is a compassionate book desperately needed in today’s climate of divisiveness.