If you are old enough to remember Roman Catholic services prior to the 1970's, you probably remember that Mass was delivered mostly in Latin.

Yesterday evening, Pope Benedict XVI returned to the Latin Mass at Washington DC's Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

There is something gorgeous about prayer services in Latin. The voice seems to bask in the candlelight.

If you were unable to watch it on TV, or, if you saw it and don't understand Latin, here's a brief translation of the better moments.

Pope Benedict took the opportunity to openly apologize for the pain and suffering the Catholic Church has inflicted on the LGBT community.

He said the Vatican's efforts to characterize gays as sinners and deviants has contributed to the way gay men and women experience discrimination in housing, jobs, and schools.

Gays are often taunted, beaten, and even murdered because people have listened to the Vatican's criticisms of homosexuality and assume it's acceptable.

And the damage has not been limited to the LGBT community in the US. Benedict said he realized that his words carry powerful meaning to people all over the world, and that he regrets it if he has been the smoking gun for actions of hate and violence toward anyone.

He said he has conferred with the Lord, and wanted to take the opportunity to say that he thinks that gay marriage is a splendid idea.

Love should be celebrated, he said, not isolated or damned.

And all families should be welcomed into God's loving arms.

OK, OK - Benedict didn't say any of that in Latin or English.

He, instead, is using this trip to make it clear that he is firmly against a woman's right to choose and gay marriage.

He described the American culture as oversexualized, code for "too queer."

But many of us hope he will someday come around.

Let us pray.

A not-so-green Bush

It's taken President Bush seven years to accept that climate change is happening, and now that he has, nothing's really different.

Yesterday, Bush delivered a speech on the subject and laid out his plan to address it: incentives for technological advancements. The reaction by environmental groups and politicians - it's a weak plan.

Encouraging new technology that helps cut greenhouse gas emissions is not in itself bad, it's a wise move. But many scientists and environmentalists say we need aggressive curbs on greenhouse gas emissions, too. After seven years, Bush is still writing off that wisdom; he wants current targets left pretty much intact. Without action by other major economies, US efforts won't make a dent, he said.

But shouldn't we make the strongest effort we can, anyway? Shouldn't we be a leader in this fight?

Bush said some things in his address that are going to make a lot of people angry: he wants more investment in controversial energy technologies like nuclear power and carbon sequestration for coal power plants - the US shouldn't waste its vast coal stocks, he said.

He praised Congress for a bill that raised automobile fuel economy standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2020, and requires fuel producers to supply at least 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2022. Environmental groups criticized the weak fuel economy standards set forth in the bill. And renewable fuels are increasingly controversial; among the chief complaints is that because ethanol is made from corn, it's causing price spikes for a variety of foodstuffs.

You can find the text of Bush's address here. A good, thorough analysis of the speech can be found here.

News of the address got buried among the pope's visit and the Democrats' Pennsylvania presidential debate. But expect to hear more about Bush's remarks in coming days - particularly with Earth Day just around the corner.