Following the release of a document calling for tolerance toward gay and divorced Catholics, the recently convened Synod of the Catholic Bishops in Rome is on its back foot.

The report, which was a debate summary of ongoing discussion rather than a press release, initially drew praise from several media outlets who took it as an indication of potential doctrinal changes. Steve Newsome of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay advocacy group, used the document to speculate that the Catholic Church is “perhaps poised to support marriage equality” while Reuters called it a “dramatic shift in tone”.