A protest hosted by the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property was recently held at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in response to the pro-LBGT conference organized by Jesuit Fr. James Martin. If you aren’t a Catholic, brace yourself because this post is going to get a little niche.
Young Catholics gathered at the gates of Georgetown University to protest Fr. James Martin's pro-LGBT "Outreach 2026" conference.
— TFP Student Action (@tfpsa) June 21, 2026
Not only are the event speakers at odds with the Bible, but also against natural law, papal documents, the Fathers of the Church, the Doctors of… pic.twitter.com/KBzE2rvsIp
The conference has widely been condemned by American Catholics, 31,000 of whom signed a petition of protest for the event. I’ve participated in a protest hosted by TFP during my college years after the city decided to allow a leader in the Satanic Temple to give the invocation for the council meeting. It almost entirely consisted of praying the rosary and attempting to fruitlessly evangelize some of the more odd individuals who came to support the Satanists.
This most recent protest is about combating something far more perverse, however.
I’ve always wanted to believe that Fr. Martin’s heart is in the right place, but his actions are so absurdly misguided that they almost cannot be explained by any good reason. A lot of his public statements make that belief harder. One panel at the conference being called “Celebrating the Transgender Catholic Experience” is an example. My conclusion has always been to pray for Fr. Martin and the complete conversions of all of those he ministers to.
Many believe that Fr. Martin is approaching those struggling with same-sex attraction with the heart and love of Christ. They would quickly criticize others for being too harsh on LGBT groups by dismissing things like Pride Month as demonic and destructive to Christian society. They would, correctly, say that the Church is a hospital for sinners and that everyone is welcome.
Many others believe that Fr. Martin is doing harm to the souls of the world’s troubled youth.
A problem arises when welcomeness prohibits a demand for repentance and change. We’re called to strive to live sinlessly like Christ. We are called to aid our brothers and sisters in faith to do the same. A watering down of the truth isn’t just uncharitable, it’s malicious.
The Catholic Church is one of the last institutions maintaining many moral and theological truths professed by Christians for thousands of years: that marriage (and as a byproduct, sex) is a bond only broken by death and only for a man and a woman, abortion in any circumstance is the equivalent of hiring a hitman for a murder, that contraception is illicit, and that ecclesial leadership is the duty of men.
Obviously many Protestants proclaim at least a few of these truths, but the number of sects that do grows smaller and smaller as the years go on. The number of politicians who would do the same, even privately, is far fewer. An unpopular reality is that some of the most socially conservative politicians in the U.S. are far more socially liberal than the average parish priest. But a rebirth in the traditional minded youth is at hand, and I’m blessed to have lived through it first-hand.
Before I became a Catholic missionary, I had converted to the faith in college. Sadly, my parents did not give me the gift of faith. I grew up with absolutely no concept of religion and couldn’t tell you the last time I was even inside of a church before I began my journey of opening the Bible and becoming a Catholic. The witness of good, faithful Catholic men and the beauty of the faith was what drove my conversion. I was happy to provide that same witness to students during my tenure as a missionary.
The courage shown by those like the Catholic youth of Georgetown University will help to propel the faith into the next generation. Not the wishy-washy false kindness of withholding the truth of sin. An undying, selfless sense of love for Christ that does not bend its knee to modernity. It propels you to stand up to falsehood despite knowing that the world is against you. It encourages you to share the fullness of the Gospel to people who believe you to be hateful, foolish, or cringeworthy.
The Catholic Church is growing with America’s youth, and it’s not because of LBGT events hosted at stuffy colleges. It’s because the faithful are sharing the love of Christ and the beauty of the faith in authentic friendship with those that are in their lives.
