Vatican adviser denounces evangelical statement affirming biblical definition of marriage

A high-profile Vatican adviser has denounced the recent evangelical statement that affirms the biblical teaching that marriage is between one man and one woman.

Rev. James Martin, an adviser to the Vatican on communications, issued a response to The Nashville Statement, which was published by an evangelical coalition known as the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) on Aug. 29.

The Nashville statement was composed of 14 affirmation and denials based on biblical teachings on human sexuality.

"Marriage as only being between a man and a woman for life, and it is a symbol of the union between Jesus Christ and the Church," part of the statement read.

Martin, a Jesuit priest known for his support of homosexuality, issued a response to the statement in a series of tweets affirming homosexuals.

"Re #Nashville Statement: I affirm: That God loves all LGBT people. I deny: That Jesus wants us to insult, judge or further marginalize them," one of his tweets read, according to Life Site News.

The Jesuit priest's tweets were reportedly picked up by The Washington Post and published in an Aug. 30 article titled "Seven simple ways to respond to the Nashville Statement on sexuality."

Martin's counter-statement came after he dismissed Catholic teaching on human sexuality earlier this month, when he told the pro-homosexual organization PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) that God made "LGBTQ people ... who they are."

The priest had previously argued that the proscriptions listed in the Old Testament and those written by St. Paul in the New Testament "have to be understood in the historical context," claiming that people who lived in the times of the Old Testament "didn't understand the phenomenon of homosexuality and bi-sexuality as we do today."

Earlier this week, evangelical Biblical scholar Robert Gagnon criticized the Vatican for giving Martin a position of responsibility in the Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church teaches that homosexuality is "objectively disordered" because God created sexual attraction to be between male and female for the sake of procreation. The Church maintains that there is no such thing as a homosexual person, but rather a person who struggles with what the Church refers to as the "disorder" of being attracted to someone of the same sex.

Martin was not the only religious leader who has denounced the Nashville Statement. On Aug. 30, more than 300 Christian leaders signed a counter statement affirming homosexuality.

The lead author of the counter statement is Brandan Robertson, who started advocating for LGBT inclusion and equality in the church after he came out as bisexual.

The 10-point statement declares that God accepts LGBT individuals as they are and not just if they vow celibacy or are willing and able to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.

CBMW has contended that a statement affirming biblical teaching on human sexuality is needed because Western culture has "embarked upon a massive revision of what it means to be a human being."

"Our true identity, as male and female persons, is given by God. It is not only foolish, but hopeless, to try to make ourselves what God did not create us to be," the coalition stated.