Catholic bishops at synod reject proposals for wider acceptance of gays

Roman Catholic bishops have reversed a historic acceptance of gays after they dropped parts of a controversial document that had been hailed as a breakthrough in how the Catholic hierarchy talked about gay people.

The call “to accept and value” homosexuals was in a draft report was backed by Pope Francis but it failed to win the backing of two-thirds of the bishops at a synod in Rome. Two other paragraphs suggesting divorced and remarried Catholics could receive communion also failed to pass.

The report, issued at the end of a two-week extraordinary synod of some 200 Roman Catholic bishops from around the world, highlighted the deep divisions within the church on issues such as reaching out to homosexuals and Catholics who have divorced and re-married.

The draft released last Monday had been hailed by some church observers and gay rights groups as a historic warming of positive attitudes towards homosexual people.

However, bishops vetoed the gay-friendly statements and removed talk of “welcoming” gay people, saying it had created confusion among the faithful and threatened to undermine the traditional family.

The two-paragraph section of the final document dealing with homosexuals was titled "Pastoral attention towards persons with homosexual orientations". The previous, three-paragraph version had been called "Welcoming homosexuals."

As opposed to its draft revision, the final report did not mention the “gifts and qualities” gay people could offer. Nor did it mention of the “precious support” same-sex partners can give each other.

The draft asked whether the church was capable of offering gay Catholics “a welcoming home” and “fraternal space”, admitting that despite “moral problems” associated with them, “homosexual unions” provided “precious support” to each other.

The earlier version spoke of "accepting and valuing their (homosexuals') sexual orientations" and giving gays "a welcoming home". The final version eliminated those phrases and most of the other language that church progressives and gay rights groups had hailed as a breakthrough.

The new version used more vague, general language, saying that gays "should be welcomed with respect and sensitivity" and that discrimination against gays “is to be avoided.”

The synod will meet again next year for further discussion.