After a media firestorm ignited by a Vatican condemnation of same-sex unions — because God "cannot bless sin" — Catholic progressives immediately looked for hope in the words of bishops, President Joe Biden and even Pope Francis. In his Sunday Angelus address after the March 15 ruling, the pope stressed that modern seekers want to "see Jesus" in acts of love, not persecution. Catholics must promote "a life that takes upon itself the style of God — closeness, compassion and tenderness," said the pope. "It means sowing seeds of love, not with fleeting words but through concrete, simple and courageous examples; not with theoretical condemnations, but with gestures of love. Then the Lord, with his grace, makes us bear fruit, even when the soil is dry due to misunderstandings, difficulty or persecution, or claims of legalism or clerical moralism."