The archbishop's failure of charity

By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Jun 16, 2016

Archbishop Cupich has written to the LGBT community of Chicago, announcing that they should "know this: the Archdiocese of Chicago stands with you. I stand with you." 

If you find that statement disturbing and even scandalous, as I did, read this excellent piece by Elliot Milco at First Things. He's responding to Father James Martin, SJ, whose concern in the wake of the Orlando massacre was that the US bishops had not immediately done what Archbishop Cupich would soon do: voice solidarity with homosexuals. Milco explains why Father Martin's suggestion (and thus Archbishop Cupich's response) is so wrong:

He's asking, whether or not he realizes it, for the bishops to recognize and tacitly endorse the sexual identities promoted by the LGBT Community—identities bound up fundamentally with the gender ideology promoted by the Community.

And if bishops did answer Father Martin's plea, Milco explains: 

This, of course, would be deeply misleading on the part of the bishops, since the Church cannot endorse this ideology. It would also be an evangelical failure, and a failure of charity.