( CNN ) -- Pope Francis sent shock waves around the globe last July when in addressing the issue of gays in the church , he opted not to remind his 1.6 billion followers about the fiery pits of hell but instead posed a question : `` Who am I to judge ? '' Not exactly a ringing endorsement for equality , but the rhetorical question was light years away from what we have grown accustomed to hearing from his predecessors . And because of that , we felt a glimmer of hope that maybe the needle within the larger Christian community had moved from hostile rhetoric to civil engagement . Maybe even tolerance . In their nearly one-hour meeting this week , Pope Francis and President Barack Obama reportedly spent the bulk of their time discussing empathy . `` It 's the lack of empathy that makes it very easy for us to plunge into wars , '' the President said afterwards . Presumably he was referring to military wars , though that sentiment is obviously applicable to the culture war as well . For only a lack of empathy could prompt officials at a Christian school in Virginia to suggest an 8-year-old girl attend a different school because she was n't behaving in a feminine enough way to stay at theirs . ( The school says it ca n't provide details because of confidentiality , but `` this matter is far beyond a simple 'hairstyle and tomboy issue ' as inaccurately portrayed . '' ) Only a lack of empathy could lead Catholic school officials to fire a beloved teacher for planning to marry the love of his life . Lack of empathy explains how `` The `` 700 Club 's '' Pat Robertson can be flippant about stoning gay people to death in the days of Jesus , or how Franklin Graham -- Billy Graham 's son -- can suggest that LGBT people might adopt children in order to `` recruit . '' All of these incidents occurred after Pope Francis asked `` who am I to judge ? '' as if ostracizing an elementary school tomboy was the best answer some of the Christian faith had to that question . On the day the story of the little girl made national headlines , Dan Haseltine , lead singer for the Christian band Jars of Clay , tweeted , `` why do I find myself regularly shaking my head , or rolling my eyes at supposed Christian leaders . '' He followed with , `` I am learning that love 's most potent manifestation happens when we make room at the table for everyone . '' Haseltine 's remarks were refreshing , because many Christians in his position prefer silent disapproval in response to over-the-top quotes and head-scratching stories like the one involving the little girl . If you 're curious why more and more people are leaving the church , maybe it 's because they hear `` love the sinner but hate the sin '' from the pulpit -- and then see so many followers go about their day as if simply saying the word `` love '' excused them from actually having to show any . Many followers of Christ may find silence on this topic easier , not noticing silence is being interpreted as endorsement -- whether they agree with the anti-gay rhetoric or not . For each time `` Who am I to judge ? '' is asked , an anti-gay quote from the Catholic League 's Bill Donahue is there to answer . To move Pope Francis ' question from a global headline to global change , Christians must stop allowing silence to be the de facto weapon of choice against the senseless persecution of gay people . Forty percent of the country 's homeless youth identify as LGBT , with nearly half kicked out of their homes by those who are supposed to love and care for them . There 's a sermon topic we do n't hear every week -- but we should . Slave owners used to start and end each service on the plantation with Ephesians 6:5 -- `` Servants , be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh , with fear and trembling , in singleness of your heart , as unto Christ . '' `` Who am I to judge ? '' was not enough to change that . Women were once compelled to stay with abusive husbands with the words `` wives , submit yourselves unto your own husbands , as unto the Lord . '' `` Who am I to judge ? '' was not enough to empower women and get the legal system to prosecute their assailants . It was in such silence that laws in Uganda were originally drafted to make being gay punishable by death . Laws that found validation from the ties some Ugandan politicians had to well-known U.S. evangelicals who regularly visited the country . The evangelicals have since distanced themselves from the anti-gay politics of Uganda . Not because of some moral stirring within their soul but because they were called out on it . Because the silence ended . Cardinal Timothy Dolan -- when asked about NFL prospect Michael Sam coming out of the closet -- said on NBC 's `` Meet The Press , '' `` The same Bible that tells us -- that teaches us well about the virtues of chastity and the virtue of fidelity and marriage also tells us not to judge people . '' It 's a truism ignored way too often by anti-gay Christian leaders . A truism that is n't reiterated enough by those who follow them .
Pope Francis and President Obama stress the importance of empathy . LZ Granderson says the Pope was right last year when he said : Who am I to judge ? Sadly , he says , many others do n't follow that teaching . And : Do n't answer the persecution of gay people with silence .