Recently, NBC news shared an article entitled, "Pope says church is open to everyone, including gay people, but has rules." Asked if it was inconsistent for him to say that Christianity was open to "everyone" when some, including gay people, were apparently excluded, Pope Francis replied, "The church is open to everyone but there are laws that regulate life inside the church."

To anyone even vaguely familiar with the Roman Catholic Church or Christian teaching throughout history, the only newsworthy item here is that reporters thought it was newsworthy.

The rest of us may not have been sure that the Pope would be as forthright as he was. What he said was not an innovation.

St. Paul was pretty clear when he described Christians and their sin, "And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

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