When people react to and condemn Father James Martin, I learn a lot more about those who are reacting than I do about Father Martin. Father Martin is a lightening rod for all of those who believe that gay people basically make the choice to be gay and that all gays could become straight, or at least leave the gay lifestyle and live celibate lives, if someone just laid out all of the rules of the Church to them and basically said, "Straighten up and fly right" (pun intended). I am really amazed at how often I hear this line from "ex-gays".
The latest to push this line of thinking is Robert Oscar Lopez, who published an article on stream.org entitled, "As an Ex-Gay Cradle Catholic, I Know the Devastation That Awaits Those Who Follow Fr. James Martin." Mr. Lopez tells us that he was brought up in a liberal Catholic environment and was never informed of the dangers of sexual sin. As a result, he became a promiscuous gay man, the blame for which he lays directly at the feet of "liberal Catholics":
I grew up in a Catholic milieu that was nothing if not gay-friendly. And I paid quite a price for that.
