Archbishop John Wester, Bishop John Stowe and other Catholic leaders declared, “We, Bishops, religious and lay leaders of the Roman Catholic Church join with the Human Rights Campaign in calling for an end to the epidemic of violence against transgender individuals.”

Austria's Cardinal Christoph Schönborn has said he cannot deny same-sex couples a blessing if they request one and that he was "not happy" with the Vatican's mid-March statement on same-sex unions.

The U.S. bishops’ conference has made defeating the Equality Act a priority, citing concerns over religious freedom.

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Vatican correspondent Gerard O'Connell and host Colleen Dulle discuss the pope’s comments and why Vaticanistas use anonymous sources so often.

More than 230 professors of Catholic theology have signed a statement protesting the Vatican’s recent pronouncement that priests cannot bless same-sex unions, adding to dissent over the document.

According to three sources, it was significant that Francis called on Christians and the church to give witness to Jesus “not with theoretical condemnations but with gestures of love.”