In the American Church today, few figures are as outspoken about the need for Catholics to treat LGBTQ people with love, respect, and compassion as Jesuit priest Fr. James Martin.
Martin is also the subject of a new documentary, Building a Bridge, which offers a close look at Martin’s LGBTQ ministry—from its origins after the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando in 2016, to Martin’s meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican in 2019.
On this episode, Commonweal associate editor Griffin Oleynick speaks with Fr. Martin and filmmaker Evan Mascagni about the film.
For further reading:
- “‘Still Beloved,’” Robert Fieseler
- “Gender, Sex, and Other Nonsense,” Dan Walden
- “Necessary Affirmation,” Jason Steidl
- “Facing Down the Wolf,” James Alison
“As Catholics, we’re not fundamentalists, or literalists. We have to understand things in their historical context.”—Fr. James Martin, SJ