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We also need to remember that there were reports that he was open to civil unions as Cardinal in Argentina. Those reports were never debunked.

Gay marriage has been legal in Argentina since 2010. As such, "civil unions" have fallen by the wayside.

How does the Catholic Church respond to a secularist society rapidly spiraling into morass?!! You realize, of course, that we are now in a post-christian era. Where christian church pews were once packed to capacity, the pendulum has shifted. Perhaps you missed this news item.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It looked like a typical Sunday morning at any mega-church. Several hundred people, including families with small children, packed in for more than an hour of rousing music, an inspirational talk and some quiet reflection. The only thing missing was God.

Atheist 'mega-churches' take root across US, world

As I noted above, the church is a "field hospital". This pope is confronting a world where God has been replaced by science, relativism, secularism, and all the other "isms". Imagine his frustration! Pope Benedict was overwhelmed by the rapidly emerging culture of death: abortion, euthanasia, et al. Rather than mincing and analyzing the words of Pope France, with the intent of interpreting what was not stated, drop to your knees and PRAY!. THAT is the remedy. He has convened a synod on the family and asked for your prayers.

Look at the rapid progression from banning contraception to IVF and now, 3 parent embryos! And with that "gift" of supposedly a healthy baby, the next step will be an obligation for all families to follow this procedure to reduce health care costs. Please take off the blinders and look at the big picture! Think globally; not locally. Who would want to stand in this pope's black shoes and confront this onslaught of technological "progress"!? The Holy Father is focused on one and only one objective to bring back the lost sheep. To do so, he must come up with a response to counteract the secular message. To reach the sheep, he has to employ technological apps like Twitter, Facebook and catholic media outlets. And these technologies are emerging so fast that, in and of themselves, they present yet another challenge.

This is LENT! It is a time for spiritual purification, meditation. prayer, and penance. Please consider devoting these 40 days in praying for our Catholic Church and Pope Francis, its shepherd.