TORONTO, Canada, February 5, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – America Magazine, whose most visible face remains that of LGBT-promoting Fr. James Martin, SJ, has on its staff a self-described communist who actively promotes gay “marriage,” transgenderism, and abortion.

A recent investigative report published by the Lepanto Institute reveals that the Jesuit-run magazine’s Toronto correspondent, Dean Dettloff, has a history of promoting communism and communist causes.

“America Magazine has long held a reputation for heterodoxy, but never before has its connection to outright communism been so obvious,” said the Lepanto Institute’s Michael Hichborn.

“No Catholic publication has any business employing a reporter with any socialist sympathies, let alone an outright communist,” continued Hichborn. “And yet, there he is.”

“And just like any loyal communist, he actively promotes immoral ideologies directly opposed to the Church’s teachings on abortion and human sexuality,” added Hichborn. “Because of this, this publication has no place in Catholic parishes, chanceries, or seminaries.”

On his social media pages, Dettloff has praised Hillary Clinton’s October 2016 pro-abortion debate statements, posted an article from the pro-abortion group Catholics for Choice, and expressed support for same-sex “marriage.”

Hichborn’s report features screenshots of these sentiments. It does not appear Dettloff has deleted them since the Lepanto Institute’s report broke.

In addition to writing for America, Dettloff co-hosts a podcast titled “Magnificast.”

Although it is described as “a podcast exploring Christianity and the political left,” it is more aptly described as focusing on “the fusion of communist ideologies with Christianity,” according to the Lepanto Institute report.

The podcast’s logo, called “blasphemous” by Hichborn, bears an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary surrounded by an irreverent, profane prayer, “O Mary conceived without white supremacy pray for us trying to dismantle this sh*t.”

In October 2017, Dettloff made no mention of celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Fatima apparitions on his social media accounts, choosing instead to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Communist Revolution.

The presence of Dettloff on the America staff comes as no surprise, given its history.

Over the years the magazine’s content, once described by The New York Times as a “moderate-to-liberal journal published by the Jesuits,” has moved sharply to the far left.

In 2005, Richard John Neuhaus, the distinguished First Things editor, said, “It would be fair to say that during the pontificate of John Paul II that America [Magazine] apparently saw itself or at least certainly read as a magazine of what some would describe as the loyal opposition. And, needless to say, there's dispute over the definition of ‘loyal’ and the definition of ‘opposition.’”

Now – thirteen years later – it would be difficult for many Catholics to identify America as the “loyal opposition.” It is more likely to be seen simply as “the opposition,” often promoting ideas and causes that are antithetical to Church teaching.

When Pope Benedict was elected, America’s editor, Rev. Thomas Reese, ran an editorial saying, “A church that cannot openly discuss issues is a church retreating into an intellectual ghetto.”

The Vatican reportedly put pressure on Jesuit leaders to remove Reese, who was subsequently replaced.

Reese had been one of St. Pope John Paul II’s sharpest critics, and had also used the magazine as a vehicle to promote abortion and homosexuality, according to a UPI report at the time.

The Vatican in 2017, instead of being similarly critical of virulently pro-LGBT Fr. Martin, chose not to seek his removal from editing America but to reward him by making him a consultant to the Holy See’s Secretariat for Communications.

LifeSiteNews reached out to America’s Editor-in-Chief, Matt Malone, SJ and Dettloff for comment. Neither responded.