The symbolism could not have been more striking on Sunday.
There, for the first time in 13 years, was House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi marching in San Francisco's Pride parade. One of the country's highest-ranking Catholic politicians, the Democratic lawmaker was one of many who celebrated the one-year anniversary of same-sex marriage being legal again in California and married same-sex couples' gaining access to myriad federal rights and benefits that come with saying "I do."
Ten days prior, another of the city's ranking Catholic leaders took a diametrically opposed stance on the issue of same-sex marriage. Salvatore J. Cordileone, the Roman Catholic archbishop of San Francisco, participated in the so-called "March for Marriage" in Washington, D.C. organized by several anti-gay groups.
Against the protests of numerous local leaders, including Pelosi, who had personally written the archbishop asking that he not attend the rally, Cordileone stood side-by-side with members of the National Organization for Marriage and the Family Research Council, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated as a hate group.
In his remarks at the rally outside the U.S. Capitol, which he insisted was not an anti-gay event, Cordileone proclaimed "the truth of a united family based on the union of the children's father and mother in marriage as the foundational good of society."
Ignoring countless studies showing children of same-sex couples do just as well as, if not better than, their peers raised by heterosexual parents, the archbishop impugned same-sex adoption.
"The truth is that every child comes from a mother and a father, and to deliberately deprive a child of knowing and being loved by his or her mother and father is an outright injustice," declared Cordileone.
And he repeated a canard oft promulgated by opponents of marriage equality that they have been harmed or victimized due to their stance.
"But even those from whom we suffer retribution - and I know some of you have suffered in very serious ways because of your stand for marriage - still, we must love them," said Cordileone.
It is impossible to reconcile Cordileone's words and actions with Pope Francis' much heralded comment, "If someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him?"
It is even harder to imagine how Cordileone, who serves as chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, can enact new directives from the Vatican calling for church leaders to soften their stance toward LGBT households.
As reported last week by Reuters, a working paper released ahead of the October synod of Catholic bishops that will focus on family issues maintained that the Church must find a way to balance its opposition to same-sex marriage with "a respectful, non-judgmental attitude towards people living in such unions."
The 75-page document was guided by responses from ordinary Catholics around the world who were asked about their knowledge and acceptance of the church's teaching on such hot-button issues as sexuality, homosexuality, contraception, marriage and divorce.
As noted by the Associated Press, the document recommends new pastoral guidelines to confront the increasing reality of legal recognition for same-sex unions, stressing that gays must be treated with dignity, respect and spared discrimination.
Despite the increasing gap between what the church teaches and beliefs held by society �" a majority of Americans, including increasing numbers of Catholics, support same-sex marriage �" we are under no delusions that the Vatican will fully come around on the issue of marriage equality anytime soon.
We do believe that for the church to articulate a softer stance on same-sex marriage and gay parenthood, it will need to have a new public spokesman. For that reason it is time for a change on Cathedral Hill and within the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Pope Francis should therefore replace Cordileone as archbishop in San Francisco, and the U.S. bishops should remove him as chairman of their marriage subcommittee. It is time for less polarizing figures to be installed in both positions.