Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
John AndersonJune 16, 2021
James Martin, S.J., speaks with Christine Leinonen before a talk at St. Ignatius Church in Baltimore, Md., in a scene from "Building a Bridge." Ms. Leinonen's son Drew was murdered in the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando in 2016.

“Nothing converts like stories,” says James Martin, S.J., during “Building a Bridge,” a kind of documentary offspring of Martin’s 2017 book of the same name. That book put him at the epicenter of the conversation about L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics and the church. “When Jesus is asked ‘Who is my neighbor?’” the Jesuit priest tells one congregation in the film, “He doesn’t say ‘Here are the 10 points that make a neighbor.’ He says, ‘A man was going down to Jericho …’”

In the James Martin story, the man was going down into the social-media hellmouth to face off against self-righteous indignation and a bottomless well of vitriol. It is not quite a parable. But it could possibly spark a few conversions.

The directors Evan Mascagni and Shannon Post have taken a tip from Martin—and Jesus—in their briskly paced, somewhat calculating but very loving film, which does not just delve into the issue of gays in the church but into the New York-based priest who has made himself, however reluctantly, the issue’s poster boy. A onetime “corporate tool” and late-inning Jesuit, Martin has attracted the kind of venom among self-proclaimed “true Catholics”—those who seem to believe a more unforgiving and wrathful church would bring people back into it—that only proves the point of his ministry: God is about love. And God’s love is not just about who you love.

“An L.G.B.T. person shouldn’t be surprised to hear they're welcome in the church,” Martin says. But of course, they often are totally shocked.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have known James Martin for a number of years, and was grateful to “Building a Bridge” for allowing me to actually spend some time with him. Following its subject from one speaking tour to the other, from churches and homes to the garden he maintains atop the Jesuit residence in Manhattan, the portrait rendered is of a man so at peace with himself he calms the souls of others.

Christine Leinonen, whose son was murdered in the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Fla. on June 12, 2016 (the event that inspired Martin’s book), says as much after their meeting together in Bethesda, Md. The people who line up to get books signed, or perhaps merely want the “eighth sacrament”—the “sacrament of selfie,” as one Irish Franciscan describes it—seem happy to have heard words about acceptance, charity and tolerance coming from a representative of their faith. “An L.G.B.T. person shouldn’t be surprised to hear they're welcome in the church,” Martin says. But of course, they often are totally shocked.

The unwelcoming are given their share of screen time in “Building a Bridge”—too much, with the result that the documentary seems to lose track of its narrative at certain moments. But that is a filmmaker’s gambit, to give them enough rope to hang themselves: Listening to the likes of Michael Voris of Church Militant long enough, one is guided to the conclusion that their fixation on sex acts says much more about them than about anyone wanting simple acceptance from the Catholic Church. And, by the way, when it comes to making an argument from scripture, the Book of Leviticus is the last refuge of the intellectual scoundrel.

It might be another stratagem, but the people in “Building a Bridge” who want to build a bridge are the happy people in the movie. All editing is selective, but the people lining up to protest Martin’s various public appearances seem profoundly unhappy. The lady complaining about “baby yoga” because the infants are being indoctrinated into Hinduism was my favorite extremist. But there is a selection.

Even these people might want to watch this movie. They might not be converted. But there is a good chance they will feel better. No one will need a degree in theology, or even a familiarity with the film’s subject, to find “Building a Bridge” a thought-provoking experience, and a warmly engaging one.

We don’t have comments turned on everywhere anymore. We have recently relaunched the commenting experience at America and are aiming for a more focused commenting experience with better moderation by opening comments on a select number of articles each day.

But we still want your feedback. You can join the conversation about this article with us in social media on Twitter or Facebook, or in one of our Facebook discussion groups for various topics.

Or send us feedback on this article with one of the options below:

We welcome and read all letters to the editor but, due to the volume received, cannot guarantee a response.

In order to be considered for publication, letters should be brief (around 200 words or less) and include the author’s name and geographic location. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

We open comments only on select articles so that we can provide a focused and well-moderated discussion on interesting topics. If you think this article provides the opportunity for such a discussion, please let us know what you'd like to talk about, or what interesting question you think readers might want to respond to.

If we decide to open comments on this article, we will email you to let you know.

If you have a message for the author, we will do our best to pass it along. Note that if the article is from a wire service such as Catholic News Service, Religion News Service, or the Associated Press, we will not have direct contact information for the author. We cannot guarantee a response from any author.

We welcome any information that will help us improve the factual accuracy of this piece. Thank you.

Please consult our Contact Us page for other options to reach us.

City and state/province, or if outside Canada or the U.S., city and country. 
When you click submit, this article page will reload. You should see a message at the top of the reloaded page confirming that your feedback has been received.

The latest from america

The 12 women whose feet were washed by Pope Francis included women from Italy, Bulgaria, Nigeria, Ukraine, Russia, Peru, Venezuela and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
"We, the members of the Society of Jesus, continue to be lifted up in prayer, in lament, in protest at the death and destruction that continue to reign in Gaza and other territories in Israel/Palestine, spilling over into the surrounding countries of the Middle East."
The Society of JesusMarch 28, 2024
A child wounded in an I.D.F. bombardment is brought to Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on March 25. (AP Photo/Ismael abu dayyah)
While some children have been evacuated from conflict, more than 1.1 million children in Gaza and 3.7 million in Haiti have been left behind to face the rampaging adult world around them.
Kevin ClarkeMarch 28, 2024
Easter will not be postponed this year. It will not wait until the war is over. It is precisely now, in our darkest hour, that resurrection finds us.
Stephanie SaldañaMarch 28, 2024