'The question at the heart of the conflict, is Francis a legitimate Pope?' one conservative commentator wrote on Twitter.
For some, Tuesday's comments, as major a step as they were, still left more to be desired from the pope.
While a step forward, it did not represent a tangible shift in the church's stance toward the LGBTQ community, criticizing laws that criminalize homosexuality while appearing not to make any gesture toward reframing the church's understanding of its alleged sinfulness. However, Francis is in a tight spot: The debate over Francis' vision for the church and that of Benedict's—a much more conservative figure—date back well before either man ascended to lead the Vatican, with recent events only serving to exacerbate those tensions.
While the church has long acknowledged that the state is free to enact laws that may be at odds with church teachings, Dillon notes that the church has continued in civil debates around subjects like gay marriage and divorce to reaffirm the sinfulness of those behaviors for Catholics.
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