As the Cardinal entered his office, I rose and we embraced each other in what could best be described as a bear hug! The Cardinal then turned to me and said, "You are most welcome here." Do you know what is radical about that statement?

The other day, I posted on my Facebook page that in the wake of the Cardinal's recent false welcome, I stand at a crossroad in my faith journey; however, I realize now that it is not I who stands at this crossroad, but rather the Cardinal himself.

The choice before our bishops now is whether to continue a divisive battle that will only diminish their own authority, or to follow where the laity has led.

While it may be true that Cardinal Dolan is seeking a more pastoral approach to gays and lesbians, I really wish that he would stop calling it love. Love does not ignore letters pleading for dialogue and reconciliation. Love does not turn away spiritually hungry people from God's Eucharistic table.

It is said that Pope Francis has a preference for the poor and that he spent much of his ministry healing the sick with his visits. Perhaps now he can heal the Catholic Church of its atrocities and lay down his condemnation of LGBT people since Christ never mentioned anything about them.

As Cardinal Bergoglio made his way to the balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square, I felt a sense of uneasiness. However, as he readied himself for his first apostolic blessing, it was his simple acts of humility that made me to pause and reflect on how he may be the gay community's greatest hope.

Pope Benedict cited his failing health as the reasons he is unable to appropriately fulfill the ministry that was entrusted to him. But the next pope will be handed the same 300-page report detailing Vatican corruption, including information about this alleged gay Vatican underworld.

I received an MBA from Assumption College in the spring of 1993, and it is with absolute clarity that I formally renounce my Assumption MBA. Based on the Pope's recent egregious accusations about gay people and gay marriage, I can no longer have any affiliation in my life to the Catholic Church.

Through his comments it is clear that the Pope has likely never met a committed same-sex couple.

As Catholics, we need only follow our faith and the conscience that guides it, to realize that World AIDS Day is an opportunity, and a call, for us to exercise faith in action.

Not only do statistics show more than half of American Roman Catholics support marriage equality -- against their hierarch's narrow views -- but we have thriving Catholic denominations that officially support equality from the laity all the way to the episcopacy.

If you wait to work for a cause until you're working with people who agree with you on everything, you'll wait forever, and the injustice will continue. So why not do something simple to show compassion for our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters?

This request is not political; rather, this is a request for displayed compassion that will allow LGBT youth to know they are loved and created in the image of God.

We should look to the Second Vatican Council for guidance and wisdom as we seek to make our house a place where no door is ever locked, but only awaiting a knock.

The name Nienstedt, which translated is something like "no town," could perhaps be more liberally rendered as "nowhere." Thus, I'd like to suggest that the title "Nowhere Man" is as fitting as "Crusader" for the Archbishop and could perhaps be added to his titles.

As Fortnight for Freedom begins, we can only hope that this great period of prayer and reflection will lead the Catholic Church to see that this quest for "religious freedom" should be a call for the Church itself to examine its own understanding of human liberty and dignity.

You have been cited as being distressed that people are being hurt through this process. It is true. Of all those hurt, the most harm has come to the youth in Mount Pleasant who are still struggling to figure out who they are.

If we want to practice "reconciliation for the sake of mission," we first have to acknowledge the people with whom we need to be reconciled.

I hope you will join me, and nearly 2,000 other people of faith, in asking Cardinal Dolan to follow the humble example of a man who nearly 2,000 years ago stopped ignoring a woman because of laws, turned to her, listened and witnessed the great faith she exhibited.

As Catholics speak out and call upon the Church to live out its call to be a beacon of social justice and love, those in the hierarchy will begin to see another way in which Christ has risen -- he has risen from the silence and has cried out for equality.

VIENNA -- Austria's cardinal has overruled one of his priests and is allowing a gay Catholic to serve on a parish council. Florian Stangl lives in a ...

You've likely heard the story of Barbara Johnson, who was denied holy communion by the priest officiating at the funeral of her beloved mother. But that priest is the sole villainous Catholic in a story starring a great many heroes.

I admire couples who decide that their love and commitment are worthy of all the legal protections available to them, and who pave the way for those behind them no matter the cost.