Fr. James Martin, S.J., has gained notoriety for promoting homosexual sin within the Catholic Church. He travels across the country, giving talks that attempt to build a bridge between Catholics and behaviors explicitly condemned by the Catechism.
However, it is not every day that the “Rainbow Jesuit” speaks at an event attended by over 30,000 people.
That is precisely what happened this past weekend.
Fr. Martin was invited to speak at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress (LA REC), which took place from February 20 to 23. This event is billed as “the nation’s largest annual gathering of Roman Catholics.”
This year, Fr. Martin delivered two talks—one of them unabashedly titled “LGBTQ Catholic Update.” Other presentations also raised serious concerns, such as “What Can the Church Learn from the LGBTQ Catholic Community?” and “How Can We Recognize Jesus in the Wounds of LGBTQ Catholics?”
These talks, and others like them, do not merely raise questions—they actively promote sinful ideas that endanger souls.
In response, the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) mobilized.
On Saturday, five TFP members and several supporters gathered outside the Anaheim Convention Center for a prayer protest. They stood for three hours, distributing flyers and engaging in conversations with LA REC attendees.
This rally stood apart from typical TFP protests. Usually, attendees of such events react with hostility toward peaceful protesters. However, at the LA REC, the majority of attendees were supportive of the TFP’s message.
Many were shocked to learn about the sins being promoted inside. Attendance at the LA REC is mandatory for all educators within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, meaning some participants were unaware of the event’s agenda beforehand.
Upon discovering that some speakers were pro-homosexual, pro-abortion, and supported women’s ordination, many attendees expressed immediate outrage.
One woman asserted: “Thank you for this flyer. I will definitely make sure to avoid those talks!”
A man confided to TFP bagpiper James Slobodnik, “Sometimes, when we’re sitting at a talk, the speaker says something, and we all tilt our heads. We listen through it, but we all disagree with it.”
Another woman told Mr. Slobodnik, “I hope they don’t promote any of that stuff at the talks I attend. If they do, I’ll have to stand up and yell, ‘I disagree with that!’ What’s the worst they can do to me? Put me in prison?”
The TFP volunteers were heartened to see many priests, religious brothers, and nuns stop to express their gratitude. One religious sister from Miami said, “God bless you all. The work you are doing here is really necessary.”
Several attendees recognized the TFP capes and banners. One young man, on the phone with a friend, looked up and saw a TFP member handing out flyers. He exclaimed, “No way! I watch your videos all the time!” He promptly hung up and asked for a picture with the volunteer.
There was some opposition, but it was negligible. A few passersby muttered comments under their breath, such as, “You all should be wearing T-shirts and shorts.”
The bolder detractors simply refused the flyer and voiced their disapproval but declined to engage in discussion.
One of the TFP’s key assets during the rally was the presence of a bagpiper. The music served as an excellent conversation starter, drawing curious passersby who inquired about the protest. It quickly became evident why the TFP frequently uses bagpipes at its rallies.
Once the lunch break ended, the peaceful protesters recited the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary in reparation for the sins being promoted at the conference.
By the time the prayer protest concluded, the TFP had distributed nearly 1,000 leaflets, ensuring that many LA REC attendees were warned about the subversive doctrines being promoted inside.
Why Protesting the LA REC Matters
The success of the TFP’s protest was evident. The message was clear and reached thousands. Countless LA REC attendees were given insight into the dangerous propaganda being disseminated at the event, and many were confronted with the urgent need to defend the true teachings of the Church.
Most importantly, faithful Catholics stood as witnesses, offering reparation for the offenses against God being committed at the event. The Church teaches that homosexuality is a “sin that cries to heaven for vengeance.” The gravity of this sin is magnified when it is promoted within the very structure of the Church, as was the case at the LA REC.
The protest in Anaheim was a powerful act of atonement. Our Lord was surely consoled by the devotion and courage of those who participated in the public rally. They were not concerned with being shamed or ridiculed. They understood that a public act of reparation was necessary, no matter how “uncomfortable” it might be.
Protest leader and TFP member Michael Whitcraft explained:
“We need to reject the errors of today, but not just within the comfort of our homes. We need to fight against them in the public square because God is now being attacked in the public square. If we want to make reparation for public sins, we need to make public reparation. As we have seen time and time again, protests do work. That’s why today’s protest matters.”