A recent front-page New York Times article called Pope Francis a “pragmatist” on LGBT issues, detailing his support of civil unions while cardinal in Argentina. Along with many Catholics, I hope our new pope brings that pragmatic streak to Rome as the worldwide leader of the Catholic Church. Michael O’Loughlin of the Religion News Service… Read More With a ‘pragmatist’ pope, LGBT hope?

There he goes again. In a nearly two week papacy full of surprises, Francis has once again turned Vatican protocol on its head. Today, it was announced that Pope Francis will not live in the apostolic palace, but will instead live in a Vatican guest house in community with lay people, men and women religious and… Read More Breaking News: Pope Francis Rejects Apostolic Palace, Will Live In Guest Apartment (Updated)

Pope Francis has dealt us so many surprises in his first week that it’s hard to qualify anything as a surprise anymore. According to the Holy See Press Office, Francis will celebrate Holy Thursday at Casal del Marmo, a prison for youth in Rome, and will wash the feet of twelve prisoners. Traditionally, the pope… Read More Pope Breaking Tradition, Will Visit Prison and Wash Feet of Inmates on Holy Thursday

For thirty seconds, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims were silent in St. Peter’s Square at the request of the newly elected Pope Francis. It was a stunning move by a man whose ascension to the papacy has shocked an institution that has seen it all. But if you knew anything about Jorge Maria Bergoglio’s religious… Read More The silence at the heart of Pope Francis’s Jesuit identity

Sometimes the media misses the elephant in the room, and this is clearly one of those occasions. Buried within several news reports is the stunning revelation that Pope Francis, then Jesuit Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, may have quietly backed gay civil unions as an alternative to the gay marriage law that passed in Argentina in July 2010.… Read More Breaking News: Records Show Pope Francis Supported Gay Unions (UPDATED)

This reflection is paraphrased from a commercial I saw many years ago from Catholics Come Home: I take this time to the celebrate the faith. The Catholic Church is a family made up of every race. We are young and old, rich and poor, men and women, all sinners and saints. Our family has spanned… Read More BREAKING NEWS: HABEMUS PAPAM (A JESUIT NAMED FRANCIS)