Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

You can paste full URL like: https://x.com/threadreaderapp/status/1644127596119195649
or just the ID like: 1644127596119195649

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

  1. On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
  2. Click again on or Share Via icon
  3. Click on Copy Link to Tweet
  4. Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
  5. More info at Twitter Help
James Martin, SJ Profile picture
@JamesMartinSJ
Sep 30, 2020 • 9 tweets • 2 min read • Read on X
Bishop Heinrich Timmerevers of Dresden has called on the Catholic Church to "reposition itself" on homosexuality: "It is my wish that we further develop and strengthen acceptance and tolerance for homosexuals in our parishes as well as in the whole church,” the Bishop of...
....the Diocese of Dresden-Meissen told Germany’s Catholic News Agency (KNA) in an interview on Monday. He also advocated permitting blessings for gay couples which the Catholic Church does not currently allow....
"The question is: what do I bless? I bless people. And if a person stands before me and asks for a blessing--how can I refuse this blessing? After all, a blessing is God’s approval.” That did not mean that he blesses and approves of everything a person does, Timmerevers added...
A clear distinction should be made in that respect. Timmerevers recently appointed two pastoral ministers specifically for the pastoral care of gay people in his diocese. “I am well aware that the integration of homosexuals and my current efforts to achieve this in our church...
...are not supported by everyone,” said the Catholic bishop. Many bishops and pastoral ministers found it disturbing, perhaps because it was unfamiliar territory. "The fact that I am encouraging it now may also encourage a process of reflection...."
This should take place at all levels, in parishes and in the Bishops' Conference, he said. "And last but not least, I believe the Catholic Church must reposition itself: How do we deal with same-sex people in our pastoral work, and how do we evaluate this?"...
Timmerevers referred to conversations with gay and transsexual Christians in his diocese who had told him their life and faith stories. "That moved me deeply because I noticed what a struggle many go through. They want to be Christians and live their faith in the church....
...And I do not want to leave these people alone in that struggle,” said the bishop.
(Translation from KNA @KNA_Redaktion)

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with James Martin, SJ

James Martin, SJ Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @JamesMartinSJ

James Martin, SJ Profile picture
Feb 3
Croagh Patrick (meaning St. Patrick’s hill, or stack) is a mountain in County Mayo, Ireland, where, by tradition, St. Patrick spent 40 days in prayer and fasting.  Often called the “Reek” (another word for rick or stack), it is not too far from Knock, where I spent a few days... Image
...last week with the Irish bishops, and so one afternoon, one of the bishops graciously drove me to this beautiful site, an important pilgrimage spot in Ireland.  On the last Sunday of July, thousands of pilgrims, many barefoot, climb the entire mountain as an....
Image
Image
...act of penance and prayer.  At the top of the mountain, there is an oratory dedicated to the saint (a church had been built here as early as the fifth century).  Halfway up the mountain is a modest statue of St. Patrick, where the bishop and I...
Image
Image
Read 5 tweets
James Martin, SJ Profile picture
Sep 4, 2023
Gospel: Today we read a remarkable story about Jesus of Nazareth. He returns to preach in the synagogue in his hometown. Initially, people like what he has to say, which is, essentially, a proclamation of himself as the fulfillment of Scripture, as the Messiah. But when he... Image
...critiques them for their lack of faith, they not only reject him, they try to kill him, by throwing him off a cliff (Lk 4). There are many ways of looking at this story, usually called "The Rejection at Nazareth." The first is from the crowd's point of view. Jesus...
...was too familiar for them to see him as the Messiah. "Is this not Joseph's son?" they ask. Sometimes we miss God in front of us because God's presence comes through the overly familiar. Second, we can look at it from Jesus's point of view. He leaves Nazareth, rather than...
Read 4 tweets
James Martin, SJ Profile picture
Jul 21, 2023
With opposition to Pope Francis among some priests (and even bishops), it's worth remembering how some priests who found themselves at odds with their superiors reacted in the past. Pedro Arrupe, SJ, former superior general of the Society of Jesus, after suffering a stroke... Image
...was removed from his post in 1981 by St. John Paul II. His "vicar," or assistant, Fr. Vincent O'Keefe, SJ, an American Jesuit widely seen as Arrupe's choice for successor as superior general, was also removed from his position....
Arrupe's response? Even in his weakened state, Father Arrupe publicly declared his obedience to the Holy Father, instructed every Jesuit to be obedient and pointedly sent around this photo to every Jesuit house in the world. (It hung in my novitiate near the front door.)
Read 11 tweets
James Martin, SJ Profile picture
Jul 8, 2023
Gospel: Today Jesus uses the image of old wineskins and and old piece of cloth to illustrate the quality of newness of the reign of God (Mt. 9). You don't put a new patch on an old piece of cloth since the original cloth is already shrunken and, when washed, the new piece...
will pull away. Likewise, you don't put new wine in old wineskins because when the grapes ferment more, the wine will expand and burst the old skins. As C.H. Dodd said, Jesus used similes and metaphors from "nature and everyday life" to help people understand God's reign...
Here, the newness is all. God's reign is fully here, since Christ is the reign of God incarnate, but it is also not fully here, since, as we see, there is still war, violence, poverty and injustice in the world. This is the "already-not yet" quality of God's reign. But...
Read 4 tweets
James Martin, SJ Profile picture
Jun 30, 2023
I would have more sympathy with web designers who refuse to serve certain people because of deeply held religious beliefs, if those certain people weren't always same-sex couples. Do they, e.g., refuse to serve people who are divorced, which Jesus himself condemns (Mt 19:9)?...
Do the refuse to serve non-Christians (which would surely be illegal) who don't believe in the Incarnation or Resurrection? Could a Catholic refuse to serve a Protestant?

The response is usually, "Well, this is about objecting to their offensive practices, not their beliefs..."
In that case, besides refusing to serve divorced couples, they should refuse to serve couples living together before being married, as well as people who don't give to the poor or welcome strangers (Mt 25), people who call others names (Mt 5:21-22) and so on...
Read 5 tweets
James Martin, SJ Profile picture
Apr 14, 2023
Gospel: Can you see that small grey chapel to the left of this photo? That's called the Chapel of the Primacy of Peter, and it's where today's Gospel happened (Jn 21:1-14), in which the Risen Christ prepared breakfast for the disciples... Image
(who would have had this view of him from their boat). Inside the Chapel is a stone called the "Mensa Christi," the Table of Christ, where he is supposed to have cooked the meal. Just to the right is the Mount of Beatitudes, where, by tradition, he preached the Beatitudes...
If you look carefully you can see the Chapel of the Beatitudes crowning the small hill. Underneath it (that is, on the shoreline) is the Bay of Parables, where Jesus would have preached the parables from a boat not far from the shoreline...
Read 6 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

Send Email!

:(