Rome (CNN) -- Catholic bishops ended a tense, two-week
summit in Rome on Saturday without agreeing on how to
minister to gays and lesbians or whether divorced and
remarried Catholics should receive Holy Communion.
An interim report issued on Monday, and greeted with great
fanfare from liberal Catholics, was heavily revised by
Saturday. Sections were removed that had praised the
"gifts" gays and lesbians offer the church, as well as the
"precious support" same-sex partners give to one other.
Even the revised sections, though, failed to garner a two-
thirds consensus from the nearly 200 bishops meeting here,
revealing deep divisions in the highest levels of the Catholic
Church.
The bishops were summoned by Pope Francis to figure out
how present the church's teachings on sexuality and family
life, which is seen as outdated in many parts of the world,
according to polls .
But more difficult issues, especially homosexuality, eluded
agreement, and led to an unusual amount of public bickering
by bishops. CNN Vatican analyst John Allen compared the
summit to a soap opera .
Part of the problem may have been built into the process.
The synod released the interim report, offering a "snapshot,"
in the words of a church spokesman, halfway through the
closed-door meetings. That report contained a strikingly
tolerant tone toward gays and lesbians , earning widespread
praise from gay rights groups.
But some bishops, mainly conservatives, complained that
the interim report did not accurately portray the synod's
discussions.
"Boy, does this ever need some revisions," Cardinal Timothy
Dolan of New York, who attended the summit, told CBS
News on Wednesday.
By Saturday, those revisions were evident.
The unprecedented welcome to gays and lesbians and
recognition of their "gifts"? Gone.
The acknowledgment that same-sex couples offer each
other "precious support?" Arrivederci.
The more tolerant take on cohabitating couples and
openness toward remarried Catholics receiving Holy
Communion? Nowhere in sight.
Instead, the final report says the bishops will "study" the
divorce and Communion issue. On same-sex couples, the
bishops said there is "no foundation" for comparing gay
unions to "God's design of matrimony and the family."
"Nonetheless, men and women with homosexual tendencies
must be welcomed with respect and delicacy," the bishops
said.
The bishops backed the revised paragraph about gays and
lesbians by a vote of 118-62, short of the two-thirds
majority needed to be considered a consensus by Vatican
rules. Pope Francis, though, decided to release the entire
report, even the unapproved sections, the Vatican said.
In any case, the document is still a "work in progress"
according to a Vatican spokesman. It is part of the
preparations for a second synod to be held next October.
Francis will have the final word when he releases his own
interpretation of the bishops' two meetings in light of
Catholic teaching.
For his part, the Pope addressed the bishops Saturday as
their summit concluded and urged them to take a middle
road between "hostile rigidity" and a "false sense of mercy."
"Dear brothers and sisters, now we still have one year to
mature, with true spiritual discernment, the proposed ideas,"
the Pope said, "and to find concrete solutions to so many
difficulties and innumerable challenges that families must
confront."
Francis' speech was followed by a four-minute ovation,
according to a Vatican spokesmen.
Gay and lesbian groups in the United States, however, called
the bishops' report "very disappointing."
"This result shows that there is still much to be examined
and explored on LGBT issues in the Church," said Francis
DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry.
"Let's hope and pray that at next year's synod, the bishops
will invite lesbian and gay people and couples to give their
personal testimonies, so that the bishops can learn firsthand
about their experiences of faith and love."

www.cnn.com/2014/10/18/world/vatican-final-report/index.html