Can we talk about the absolute clown car catastrophe that is inviting Father James Martin to blab at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress? It’s like hiring a flat-Earther to keynote at NASA.

This guy’s supposed to be educating the faithful on Catholic teaching, but his takes on sexuality are about as aligned with Church doctrine as a vegan burger at a Texas barbecue.

Look, the Church says sexual appetites don’t define you. But Martin pushes “LGBT Catholic” like it’s the new Vatican bumper sticker, slapping labels on folks based on attractions that the Catechism calls “objectively disordered.” He even floats ditching that “cruel” language, as if rewriting the rulebook mid-game won’t confuse everyone. And remember when he claimed people are “born gay,” like it’s etched in DNA destiny? Critics like Archbishop Chaput roasted that nonsense, pointing out it nukes free will and turns sin into a factory setting.

Martin’s defenders say he’s all about dignity and welcome, never outright rejecting teachings. His slippery ambiguity sows confusion, leading souls astray with rainbow-tinted theology that winks at acts the Church flat-out calls sinful. Bishop Paprocki nailed it: it’s “deeply scandalous,” tricking people into thinking wrong’s right.

I do seem to remember a quote about woe to those who confused good with evil. But hey, maybe I’m misremembering.

Having him at a religious ed shindig? That’s not education; that’s ecclesiastical sabotage, like letting a fox teach chicken self-defense. The REC organizers prove once again that sometimes the clowns run the circus.