Bishop Dolan compared his outlook to that of Pope Francis, explaining that he “grew up in a very large family, nine kids. There’s no way of drawing a line in the sand with nine kids. You can’t do that.”

Rosemary Radford Ruether, who died on May 21, deliberately lived both within the Catholic tradition and on its margins.

Last week saw the release of yet another poll suggesting that a majority of U.S. Catholics do indeed hold pro-choice views on abortion.

The 62-year-old Chicago native who founded the Word on Fire ministry was appointed the next bishop of Winona-Rochester, Minn., by Pope Francis.

Instead of a point of pride and hope among all U.S. Catholics, the announcement of Cardinal-designate McElroy’s impending elevation became just another opportunity for Catholic twitterati to have at it.

Bishop McElroy said he and the pope share a view that the church should focus on “more inclusion” and “outreach to people who have been alienated from the church in the past.”