The popes who sit in modern times sit on an uneasy throne.
Understand that what is first and foremost important to The Church is tradition. That worked really well for oh 1800 years, then you hit the 20th century and the shit hits the fan and tradition is being blown to smithereens in the secular world. The Love Revolution, women's rights, the break down of the traditional family unit (no not the nuclear family unit, the older unit). WWII did a huge number on the church, sparking reform that would later become Vatican II.
For a pope to say 'its ok to be gay' he pretty much has to invalidate the last 2000 years of tradition while saying that previous popes were indeed fallible, and that the Bible is wrong and God lied.
With every new thing that the church has accepted, it has taken a lot of
reinterpretation of scripture to affect this 'new acceptance'. Further Doctrine has to be written to 'save face' of previous popes saying they were not wrong but were right, but this new idea is right as well.
The Church hates to apologize, it was centuries AFTER the inquisition that Pope John II apologized for that little misunderstanding. The church is big, and it is slow, it has its own inertia to over come in all matters.
You missed out by a few decades on the serious changes that took place in the middle of the 20th century. Vatican II
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_II
Vatican I took place in 1868, Vatican II took place in 1962. If this is a new trend then expect Vatican III in 2055.
To have a pope even suggest that being gay is ok in so much as half a sense is a big, huge, ginormous deal. Just like the admitting that there are cases where condoms should be used was a big, massive, titanic move.
These are setting
precedences for future allowances and slow change in the Church Doctrine. In future other popes (I wouldn't suspect this one will make another comment) will build on what he said.
You are talking about an organization that measures time in centuries and millenniums. It is big, it is massive, it has a lot of inertia behind it, and libraries full of doctrine that has to be reevaluated, reinterpreted to meet any new idea or suggestion that the secular world comes up with.
Unless there is a massive shift of the laity who put pressure on priests, bishops, cardinals who in turn put pressure on the Vatican and the Holy See - don't expect the Catholic Church to say 'Its ok to be gay' for a very long time.
Never know, there may be a Vatican III sooner than 2055, in which case all bets are off - new protocols, sweeping reform may include the wearing of condoms and acceptance of homosexuality completely.