1) As far as the Tobin article ("Is Cardinal Tobin's Outreach to LGBT Catholics About More Than Optics?") is concerned:  Tobin is a good company man.  As long as Francis is pope he will appear open to the gay community, but if a conservative pope is elected he will keep his distance from the gays.  He'll go where the power is.

2) As far as shorter and pithier homilies: I'm all for them.