“It is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time. The dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not all equivalent … We have to find a new balance, otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards.” That’s Pope Francis on the obsession “with preaching about abortion, gay marriage and contraception.” And here he is on homosexuality: “A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality. I replied with another question: ‘Tell me: when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person?’ We must always consider the person.” There are a lot of things that need such consideration. But this pope is definitely shifting the tone.