fair treatment of others when in fact his followers are leaders of the movement to deny fair treatment and to allow dogmatic bigotry to harm millions of people. Francis, the lead bigot, will not oppose but will endorse this action of his Bishops.

While he has made the argument that the RCC needs to focus on other topics, this particular move on the part of the Bishops flies in the face of that.

I mean, it's all Chris Hayes and Bill Maher and other Catholic raised Straight Men claiming Francis is so super liberal but I am really seriously offended by it.

he can't change the dogma of the RCC.

I do think the change in tone can be a positive turn, but it won't change practice unless there is some dramatic change in the other levels of the hierarchy.

He could speak ex-cathedra and declare doctrine that being gay is not a sin. He could speak ex-cathedra and say that women can be ordained. He won't, of course, because Catholic heads, for the most part, would explode, but if he actually wanted to change the doctrine, he has the ability to do that as pope.

he would have to implicitly acknowledge that the principles of Catholic doctrine, which are represented as coming from god, and being immutable and unchangeable, are anything but. He would have to acknowledge that they are nothing but arbitrary bigotry and sexual prudishness.

I will give the pope credit for being a great PR guy; but, until the actions of the church match the carefully measured and chosen words of the pope I remain skeptical of everything he say.

There is a big difference between everyone will be forgiven and everyone will be saved. Saying who is he to judge does not mean hes condoning anything.

That said, if I were still Catholic, I would latch onto any hope for positive change that may appear. Even if he has no real intention of changing anything, his outreach could pull more liberals into the church and maybe pull the church to the left in the distant future.

so enthusiastically, when you know he's so duplicitous, and has no real interest in changing anything for the better?

Referred 19 September to Oversight and Government Reform, and to Ways and Means