"Just Another Day in the United States of America, Another Day of Gunfire, Panic, and Fear": Commentary on Latest Mass Shooting in U.S.

Birth control? BAN IT! Abortion? BAN IT! Gay marriage? BAN IT! Guns? Look, banning things never works. People will find ways to get them.

— Nick Martucci (@BlunderingIdiom) August 4, 2015

Paul Vallely and Patricia Miller on the Pope's Failure in Africa: "How Gays Are Treated Is Fundamental to the Future of the Universal Church"

I am not by any means the only person giving testimony about how Pope Francis's silence regarding the threat to LGBT lives in Africa radically undermines his "reform" agenda for the Catholic church. Today's New York Times carries an essay by papal biographer Paul Vallely entitled "The Pope's Failure in Africa." Vallely's testimony is critically important because he has been a strong defender of Francis and a promoter of his reform agenda. 

Bob Shine on Pope Francis's Silence About LGBT People in Africa, and How This Silence Colors His Message of Good News

Bob Shine of New Ways Ministry on Pope Francis's silence about LGBT people in Africa, and how this silence colors his message of good news to the world:

On World AIDS Day, What Message of Good News Do Catholic Leaders Have for People Affected by HIV — After Pope Francis's Trip to Africa?

Yesterday was World AIDS Day. What was the official, unambiguous statement of good news offered by the leaders of the Catholic church to the world on World AIDS Day, regarding an illness that remains epidemic and lethal in particular in the continent of Africa?

Ken Briggs on the Shocking "No Big Deal" Approach of Pope Francis to Questions About Catholic Position on Condom Use and AIDS — The Moral Limits of Pretending That Some People Don't Exist

As Ken Briggs notes today in National Catholic Reporter, the "no big deal" approach Pope Francis appears to take to some issues causes him to hard-sell some topics (e.g., the need to respond to climate change), while soft-pedaling or bypassing others. The latter category includes, Briggs suggests, how the Catholic church should respond to LGBT people and to the use of condoms to combat the spread of HIV.

John Pavlovitz on Outgrowing American Christianity: "Feeling Estrangement from These Things Is a Good Thing"

John Pavlovitz writing today at his Stuff That Needs to Be Said blog about his emancipation from American Christianity, which he realizes he has outgrown:

Frank Mugisha, Ugandan Advocate for LGBT Rights, on Pope Francis's Missed Opportunity for Conversation on Protecting LGBT Persons

Amy Fallon writes,