Meanwhile at the cafeteria:

A new report from the Public Religion Research Institute suggests a majority of Catholics are supportive of gay and lesbian rights. The report, which was released today, found that 43 percent of Catholics favored allowing gay and lesbian people to marry; 31 percent favored allowing them to form civil unions. 22 percent said there should be no legal recognition of a gay relationship.

American Catholics have long ignored the hierarchy on birth control and abortion rights and premarital sex and oral and yoga—and now on marriage equality. When they're asked to choose between members of their own families—their daughters' futures, their ability to plan the size of their own families, their gay sons and daughters and nieces and nephews—and the pope's long list of hangups, Catholics will choose family every time. And Christian bashers like me need to keep this in mind: those polls that show a majority of Americans now support marriage equality? They were made possible by growing support for marriage equality by Catholics and other Christians:

Some of the biggest gains in support have come from religious Americans. Sixty-three percent of white Catholics now support marriage equality, up from just 40 percent in 2004. White Protestants also show major shifts—57 percent of nonevangelical Protestants support marriage equality, up from 2004 when only 41 percent showed support. It’s true that white evangelicals remain widely opposed—only 25 percent support marriage equality. But even that number is an 11 percent increase from 2004, when only 14 percent showed support.

And regarding those way-out-in-front Catholics, what Atrios said:

I'm not really surprised by these numbers, but my futile hope is that maybe just maybe some in the press will stop letting Bill Donohue be the spokesperson for all Catholics. I get that what the hierarchy says will inevitably get some additional weight, but there's no need to compound that by pretending that asshole speaks for the people.