COLORADO
The Denver Post
By Electa Draper
The Denver Post
Pope Francis set the world debating whether his candid and concilatory remarks Monday on gays and women in the Catholic Church represent a new direction or simply a kindlier tone.
Archdiocese of Denver spokeswoman Karna Swanson said the pope’s comment — “who am I to judge” gay clergy — was “definitely not a departure” from Catholic teaching. It has always called for respect and compassion for those with same-sex attractions, she said, but doesn’t sanction homosexual acts.
Others aren’t so sure the remarks don’t foreshadow change.
Reformist Roman Catholic Austrian priest Helmut Schüller, in Denver Monday calling for an end to the global priest shortage through ordination of married men and women, also supports a more open and inclusive church for the LGBT community.
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