From Vice:

The Horrific Catholic Church Sex Abuse Scandal Is About to Get a Lot Worse

It's just a few bad apples, right?

Pope Francis was flying back to Rome from a papal visit to Georgia and Azerbajan when a reporter asked "given his firm denunciation of gender theory, how he could minister to Catholics who suffered from gender dysphoria."

Words from a pope mean something to some people. Personally, I was raised Lutheran, so I grew up already excommunicated by the Vatican...as Lutherans had been for centuries.

But I have to admit I had expected better from Francis.

Now that Pope Francis is on American soil (question: Is the Popemobile considered baggage?), we can turn our attention to the exploding heads on the right (both Vatican and American, from all indications, over the guest list for tomorrow's White House visit.

To put everything in proper context, we should note that there are about 15,000 names on that guest list, so it's not like any one of them is going to spend significant time alone with Francis...or even get close to him, let alone speak to him.

But that's not stopping folks like Mike Huckabee from tweeting:

Classless decision by @POTUS to transform @Pontifex visit into a politicized cattle call is an insult to millions of Catholics.

The man who has asserted that he would have been a pervert if transgender people around when he was young, is especially concerned about the invitations to Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, who is openly gay, transgender activist Mateo Williamson, and former Nun on the Bus, Sister Simone Campbell.

My attention, of course, is on Mateo Williamson, a former leader of the transgender caucus within Dignity USA.

The Vatican’s disapproval of my presence at the ceremony speaks to the necessity for continued dialogue between transgender Catholics and the church hierarchy.

This is really not so much of a political statement as it is the reality that there are so many LGBT Catholics and family members of LGBT people who would really benefit from this message coming from the White House.

--Williamson