Pope Francis called on the church to adapt to ‘changing conditions of society’ yesterday following a conference that rejected changes that would have softened the church’s stance toward homosexuality and divorce.
As he beatified Pope Paul VI who implemented the Second Vatican Council’s vast changes, Pope Francis said ‘God is not afraid of new things’.
Liberal reforms to church doctrine which fell short of the two thirds majority needed for success in the meeting would also have opened the way for Catholics who are divorced and remarried to receive communion, the central sacrament of the church.
Traditionalists, the Pope said, risk a temptation of ‘hostile inflexibility’.
It is unclear whether the document issued Saturday is a set-back for the pope, but the conference did prompt the church to discuss difficult issues such as the role of gays, lesbians and divorced Catholics.
Commentators said the bishops had done what Francis had asked of them, which was to talk about the issues in an ‘open way’. But those talks, to ‘take the bishop’s pulse’ on current issues, had exposed a split reformers and conservatives.
An interim document issued last week by the bishops halfway through their synod included wording that welcomed the ‘gifts and qualities’ of gay Catholics and called on pastors to ‘avoid any language or behavior’ that could discriminate against divorced Catholics, USA Today reported.
Saturday’s report did not feature the reconciliatory language.
The final paper also emphasised strongly that there was no change in the church’s attitude to gay relationships.
