SCRANTON Pa. - A protest opposing the teachings of Rev. James J. Martin of the Society of Jesus took place on Mulberry Street in between the DeNaples Center and Montrone and Pillarz Halls on Sept. 18. The protest was not student-led but instead organized by an external party. The protest was held as a response to Martin’s speaking engagement on campus for the “Ignatian Values in Action” lecture in the Byron Center. 

Martin, a Jesuit priest, is a writer and the editor-at-large for America magazine, and the founder of Outreach. Outreach is a news and opinion website for Catholics who are also members of the LGBTQ+ community. Martin has spent recent years advocating for the Catholic Church to embrace LGBTQ+ Catholics and make them feel more welcome. This is the focal point of his 2021 book and documentary “Building a Bridge”, where he calls for greater openness, respect and dialogue between the Catholic Church and the LGBTQ+ community. 

Martin brought with him a discussion on God and Jesuit values. In a shock to University of Scranton faculty, staff and students, he was also accompanied by protestors. 

On the morning of Sept. 18, students found a group protesting outside Montrone Hall, playing bagpipes and holding signs on the sidewalk. 

Their signs cited Catholic teaching and opposing Martin’s approach to LGBTQ issues. They also distributed pamphlets to passersby, making their presence and stance on Martin’s teachings known to the university community. 

The protestors were volunteers of TFP Student Action, a project of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, otherwise known as the TFP. The TFP is an organization that focuses on what they call the “counter-revolution.” The organization explains the counter-revolution in its foundational manifesto, Revolution and Counter-Revolution. It argues that “The Revolution,” which has been occurring for more than 500 years, is humanity’s process of seeking to destroy hierarchical Christian civilization. Their rebuttal is the Counter-Revolution, which is their rejection of the Revolution and a movement dedicated to restoring traditional Christian order, essentially re-establishing a medieval Christian society. This is the basis of their beliefs and mission. 

When asked why they chose to protest at Scranton, TFP Student Action said, “We visited the University of Scranton to make a public act of prayerful reparation to God in response to Fr. James Martin’s appearance on campus.” They described their view that Martin’s approach “promotes errors that undermine, contradict, and attack the Catholic Faith.” 

According to TFP Student Action’s website, the project affirms “positive values of tradition, family and private property.” Their website shows other times they protested Martin, including at Loyola University Chicago and Notre Dame University. When asked how often they protest Martin, they stated, “Whenever an opportunity arises to protest Fr. Martin’s errors, we try to respond with prayer and public witness. Our goal is to defend the Catholic Faith, which never panders to the fickle or godless trends of the world.”

Martin was in Scranton for multiple events. He addressed first-year students who read his book “Searching for God at Ground Zero,” discussed his new book “Work in Progress” with community readers, and also attended a lecture for students, faculty and staff about his new book. Martin met with SAFE space, the university’s LGBTQ+ group, in between these events. 

When asked if he had dealt with TFP Student Action before, Martin said, “Yes, in the past few weeks, they have protested pretty much every event I've done, even though most of them were just about my book on summer jobs and entering the Jesuits.” He proceeded to mention their protests at Notre Dame and Loyola University Chicago. He also mentioned that they protested at “a regular Sunday Mass at my home parish of St. Ignatius in New York.” Martin preached for a mass attended by Bishop Bambera, where he was also followed by TFP Student Action. “Amazing to me that they would protest at a cathedral Mass presided over by the local bishop.”

Martin has tried “once or twice” to speak with the protestors but they “basically just shout names at me.” When asked his thoughts on the protestors, Martin said, "It's a free country. So they can protest if they like.” He talked about an experience a few weeks ago where “they were playing snare drums and bag pipes, for some reason, and shouting out while parishioners were just coming to a Sunday Mass.” 

 Martin also mentioned, “over the last few years, maybe once or twice a year, I get messages, mainly through social media, from young men who say, in essence, ‘Father I want to apologize. I used to protest against you but I just recently came out as a gay man. And I want to say I'm sorry.’” He concluded by expressing sympathy for the protesters, noting the anger he perceived in their response.

Students had mixed opinions on the matter, with many taking to social media apps such as YikYak to voice their disdain for the protestors. An anonymous YikYak post that garnered 816 upvotes read, “It’s all about love thy neighbor until their neighbor isn’t a straight white man. Jesus would actually be appalled by this,” with an image of the protest attached. This high amount of upvotes the post received makes it currently the second highest upvoted post in the Scranton community on YikYak. 

TFP Student Action said there were some students who agreed with their cause explaining “Several students came to thank us for being there. That was encouraging. It showed us that there are students who appreciate people who stand up for Catholic truth, the sanctity of traditional marriage, and family values.”

A small student counter-protest formed, with a few students holding papers reading, “Catholic Gen Z Does Not Condone Hate” and “What Happened to Love thy neighbor?” 

When asked if they received a lot of pushback from students, TFP Student Action replied, “Yes. There was some pushback. Several students who participated in a counter-protest told us to ‘Get off our campus.’” 

The event ultimately highlighted the ongoing tension regarding tradition and inclusion within the Catholic Church. 

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