Vatican synod ends with opening to divorcees, no change on gays [View all]

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

World | Sat Oct 24, 2015 11:10pm IST

Vatican synod ends with opening to divorcees, no change on gays

VATICAN CITY | BY PHILIP PULLELLA

Roman Catholic bishops agreed on Saturday to a qualified opening toward divorcees who have remarried outside the Church but rejected calls for more welcoming language towards homosexuals.

The outcome of a three-week gathering at the Vatican, known as a synod and presided over by Pope Francis, marked a victory for conservatives on homosexual issues and for progressives on the thorny issue of remarriage.

The final synod document restated Church teachings that gays should not suffer discrimination in society, but also repeated the stand that there was "no foundation whatsoever" for same-sex marriage, which "could not even remotely" be compared to heterosexual unions.

The document indicated that the assembly had decided to avoid overtly controversial language and seek consensus in order to avoid deadlock on the most sensitive topics, leaving it up to the pope to deal with the details.

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Read more: http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/10/24/pope-synod-idINKCN0SI0K720151024

Source: New York Times

Vatican Split on Rules Over a More Inclusive Church

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN OCT. 24, 2015

VATICAN CITY — A three-week global assembly called by Pope Francis to re-examine church teaching on marriage and family in the modern era ended with bishops voting narrowly on Saturday to open the door to divorced and remarried Catholics to return to fuller participation in the church, but stopping short of saying they may take communion.

The bishops drew a hard line, however, against any acceptance of same-sex marriage, saying in their final document that it is not “even remotely analogous” to marriage between a man and a woman. They added that gay people should be respected and not subjected to “unjust discrimination” — a reiteration of prior church teaching.

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Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/world/europe/synod-makes-overture-to-the-divorced-but-rejects-gay-marriage.html