Patti Mulligan What i’m advocating for is clarity — along the lines of “let your yes be yes, and your no, be no — anything else comes from the Evil One.” It seems to me that LGBTQ people well know that that Catholic doctrine regards them as disordered, etc. However, the occasional gestures of Pope Francis (who am I to judge? etc.) and the book by Fr. Martin offer a kind of false hope to LGBTQ people who love their church and are looking for any signs that they will one day be accepted (by accepted I mean, regarded as morally acceptable, not viewed as perverse, etc.) These gestures seem designed to offer that false hope. There’s nothing particularly new about the idea that we should all be considerate, polite, etc. to people we regard as morally unacceptable. Building a bridge of understanding should begin with honesty and clarity, something along the lines of “We have no intention of re-thinking our view that you are morally unacceptable, intrinsically disordered, etc. … but we would like credit for acting less outwardly hostile.” My own view is that it’s best for LGBTQ people to stay off this bridge that Fr. Martin is building (with the rainbow flag colors on the cover, etc.) It’s a ruse.