Vatican – October 19, 2014

SOUNDBITE (English) Thomas J. Reese, Analyst for National Catholic Reporter:

“What happened this evening was the drafting committee came back about a revised report, which will be sent out to all the bishops around the world, to be the document that they talk about between now and the next synod in October 2015. They voted on every paragraph, every paragraph got a majority vote, but three paragraphs did not get the two-thirds that normally is required.”

SOUNDBITE (English) Thomas J. Reese, Analyst for National Catholic Reporter:

“I think that these issues are going to continue to be discussed during the coming year, especially the issue of how to deal with people, who have been divorced and remarried. The document does not resolve it. It says that some bishops said one thing, other bishops said something else. So I think we are going to have a conversation in the church about these issues and then we will find out what the synod says next year.

STORYLINE:

Catholic bishops scrapped their landmark welcome to gays on Saturday, showing deep divisions at the end of a two-week meeting sought by Pope Francis to chart a more merciful approach to ministering to Catholic families.

The bishops failed to approve even a watered-down section on ministering to homosexuals that stripped away the welcoming tone of acceptance contained in a draft document earlier in the week.

Rather than considering gays as individuals who had gifts to offer the church, the revised paragraph referred to homosexuality as one of the problems Catholic families have to confront

The paragraph failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed to pass.

Two other paragraphs concerning the other hot-button issue at the synod of bishops – whether divorced and civilly remarried Catholics can receive Communion – also failed to pass.

The outcome showed a deeply divided church on some of the most pressing issues facing Catholic families.

According to Thomas J. Reese, Analyst for National Catholic Reporter, the three issues “are going to continue to be discussed during the coming year” until next year’s synod, which is when “we will find out what the synod” thinks about them.