I rarely begin posting on anything by putting in disclaimers, but here goes:
a) I am not a Roman Catholic
b) I am not gay
c) I am a congregationally active Christian lay person
Here comes the Pope's statement on the possibility of a civil unions law the Church can support: 1/5

"They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out or be made miserable because of it."
I draw a deep breath, and say, "ok, here goes."
And right on cue, secular people disdain the statement saying stuff like, "He should have no say." 2/5

...or, "Not good enough." only to be followed by gripes from conservative Catholics who will simply continue heaping the kind of scorn they've been lobbing at Francis since he began sitting in Peter's chair. And I just sigh, because it's a humane, decent, impulse that moves 3/5

...the conversation somewhere new and realistic for the world's largest single religious body. And why isn't that a good thing? I'll just say what people who exulted at hardline statements from St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI used to say to me, "deal with it... 4/5

5/5...The Catholic Church is not a democracy!"
Maybe you never really believed the Pope is the Vicar of Christ on Earth unless he was agreeing with what you already believed? A teacher, and a guide, is supposed to lead you somewhere, and only tell you you're right, when you are.