Some Catholics see the Vatican declaration as a step forward for L.G.B.T. people in the church. Others are worried about the possibility of schism.

In two recent cases, the Supreme Court seemed to protect religious belief, but in saying that a website developer cannot be compelled to endorse same-sex marriage, it relied on free speech principles.

The pope and Cardinal McElroy both made statements this week on L.G.B.T. issues, which have until recently not been discussed by church officials.

With church leaders slated to meet in October for the next phase of the Synod on Synodality, the bishops conferences of the U.S. and Canada released a report summarizing the virtual meetings conducted with lay and ordained Catholics earlier this year.

Pittsburgh Bishop David A. Zubik has been meeting with people in the LGBTQ+ community following a canceled June “Pride Mass” at a Catholic university, saying he hopes “to pave a path for LGBTQ people to feel and be more welcomed” in the church.

The synod’s working document, released at the Vatican on June 20, highlights three priorities for building a synodal church: communion, mission and participation.

“Dear, Alana” chronicles Ms. Chen’s involvement in her Boulder, Colo., Catholic community—and with therapy that seemed to use some ideas common in conversion therapy.

Speaking at a conference about the synod in Knock, County Mayo, Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the synod, said that “Fiducia Supplicans,” will not affect the forthcoming second session of the Synod on Synodality.

Ten years ago on the flight back from his first World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, Pope Francis spoke these five simple words that reverberated around the world: “Who am I to judge?”

Maria McFadden Maffucci is the editor-in-chief of the Human Life Review, a quarterly journal founded by her father in 1975 after the Roe vs. Wade decision.