Well, maybe it’s not as bad as all that. Lots of Christians, including entire denominations like the Episcopalians, have aligned themselves with new scientific understanding of gender identity and sexual orientation. Most practicing Jews have done the same.

Catholic bishops are among the few religious leaders in the world who refuse to understand or acknowledge that sexual orientation is an inborn human characteristic.

But Catholic parishioners are not so willfully ignorant as their leaders. Catholic lay people in the US are very accepting of LGBTQ people and strong proponents of legal equality. Many ordinary Catholics are voting with their feet and their wallets, leaving the Church or refusing to contribute money to it.

They don’t want to support an institution that uses their money to oppress members of minorities.

The question really is whether the Church will recognize science about human characteristics and move on, or whether they’ll dig their heels in, continue characterizing us as disordered and depraved, and continue shrinking and losing influence as an institution.

People tend not to like bullying bigots, and that’s encouraging. I think the Church will eventually retreat from its savage doctrines.