I applaud the archbishop of Chicago for his remarks–I saw this piece (where else?) at the Bench.

When I was talking, I was speaking out of fear that I have for the church’s liberty and I was reaching for an analogy which was very inappropriate, for which I’m sorry. I didn’t realize the impact of what I was saying. … Sometimes fear is a bad motivation.

This is good.

The people in the culturewar trenches will be dismayed, but they really shouldn’t be. LGBT people are, for the most part, not unlike bishops. They’re just trying to do their jobs, live their lives, find their God, and sometimes they slip up like anybody else. Being able to offer an apology like this, without getting mealy-mouthed about it, is a good thing. A good start to reconciliation.

Chris Pett from Dignity Chicago:

This is not about power. This is not about control. This is about a church and its ministry and its shepherd. We believe in reconciliation. It’s not a time to continue to draw battle lines and go back to prior history. It’s time to say we’re grateful for that gift for someone realizing that he or she misspoke in a way that caused some harm and seek forgiveness.

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