ATLANTA, Ga., September 25, 2018, (LifeSiteNews) – Pro-LGBT Jesuit priest and Vatican advisor Fr. James Martin is suggesting that those who oppose his message of affirmation to homosexuals are not only going against the "Vatican," but they are not “orthodox.”

In a tweet sent out on Monday, Martin criticized dozens of Catholics in Atlanta, Georgia for protesting Archbishop Wilton Gregory’s invitation to the pro-LGBT priest to speak at two local parishes next month.

Martin trotted out three arguments as proofs of his orthodoxy, attempting to turn the tables on those who object to his efforts to normalize homosexuality within the Catholic Church.

“The irony: An archbishop, the legitimate ordinary of the archdiocese, invites a priest in good standing, who has stated he is not challenging church teaching, to deliver a lecture on welcome that had been approved by the Vatican. Who is orthodox here?” he tweeted.

The irony: An archbishop, the legitimate ordinary of the archdiocese, invites a priest in good standing, who has stated he is not challenging church teaching, to deliver a lecture on welcome that had been approved by the Vatican. Who is orthodox here? https://t.co/oTD1X9dohm — James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) September 24, 2018

Atlanta’s CBS 46 reported about Catholics who gathered outside the Cathedral of Christ the King on Sunday protesting Archbishop Gregory’s invitation:

“We're simply protesting two things,” said Dr. Kelly Bowring. “One, that Archbishop Gregory directly invited Father James Martin to speak. It wasn't that it just happened. He invited him. And secondly that Father James Martin himself is coming to the diocese to speak with a pro-gay agenda.” Demonstrators told reporter Ashley Thompson that Father Martin is known to celebrate the gay community, which they say is against church doctrine. “He is promoting active homosexuality,” said Diane Duquette. “He says there is nothing wrong with that.” [...] “We're concerned that Father James Martin is being invited because we understand and agree to reach out to homosexuals and to love the sinner but the problem that Father James Martin does not address is the sin of homosexuality,” said Bowring.

The controversy grew from Fr. Martin’s announcement that he would be speaking at the Atlanta parishes. Martin tweeted:

“Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta has graciously invited me to his archdiocese to speak,” he said, “so I will be speaking at St. Thomas More Parish (the Jesuit parish) on Sat. Oct 20 and at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on the morning of Sun. Oct 21.”

“I will be speaking on the same topic as I did at the World Meeting of Families: ‘Showing Welcome and Respect in Our Parishes to LGBT People and their Families,’” noted Martin in a follow-up tweet.

Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta has graciously invited me to his archdiocese to speak, so I will be speaking at St. Thomas More Parish (the Jesuit parish) on Sat. Oct 20 and at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on the morning of Sun. Oct 21. https://t.co/PxFw1kKtXB pic.twitter.com/yLabGfonI8 — James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) September 14, 2018

I will be speaking on the same topic as I did at the World Meeting of Families: "Showing Welcome and Respect in Our Parishes to LGBT People and their Families." — James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) September 14, 2018

Martin’s announcement came on the heels of his pro-LGBT World Meeting of Families presentation, where he declared that active homosexuals “should be invited into parish ministries” specifically mentioning them becoming “eucharistic ministers” in order to make them welcomed and accepted in the Catholic Church.

Throughout his talk, Martin spoke of ‘LGBT Catholics,’ reinforcing the notion that God creates men and women gay, lesbian or transgender. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, however, that the homosexual inclination is "objectively disordered," meaning that God does not create anyone homosexual.

Some lay members of the diocese have also been distressed about Archbishop Gregory's appointment of a pro-LGBT priest who heads a homosexual-affirming parish to be diocesan spiritual director for victims of sexual abuse by clergy.

Monsignor Henry Gracz, pastor at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception––one of the Atlanta parishes where Martin will speak––remains in that position, despite a change.org petition to have him removed.

“This is very concerning,” one Atlanta Catholic told LifeSiteNews about Gracz’s appointment. “Isn’t this what we’re talking about with McCarrick?”

The Catholic, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, said that the Shrine is well known as the “gay parish” of the archdiocese, and said that Msgr. Gracz “gives carte blanche to everything gay in Atlanta.”

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