The change was a new openness to debate, that extended to releasing the voting figures from the bishops who were polled on each paragraph of the Synod’s final statement. “The concept of having a representative body of the Church voting on doctrinal applications and pastoral solutions strikes me as being rather Protestant,” conservative US bishop, Thomas J. Tobin wrote on his website.

The synod will also be remembered by what was not changed – halfway through the Synod a draft report had spoken of “mutual aid to the point of sacrifice” in some gay relationships.

That language was removed in the final version.

Pope Francis

The full English translation is not available-but the rejected paragraphs are freely available.

“The revised relatio (report) emphasizes the church’s ‘no’ to gay marriage”, Thavis reported

Vatican Insider, published by Italy’s La Stampa newspaper gives more detail. This par on homosexuality, which does not even hint at condoning gay marriage, got a majority of votes but not the required two thirds (118 for, 62 against): “Some families may comprise members who are attracted to members of the same sex. The Synod has reflected on the kind of pastoral care that should be provided to people who find themselves in this situation, bearing the teaching of the Church in mind: ‘There is no basis whatsoever to assimilate or to draw even remote analogies between same-sex unions and the plan of God for marriage and the family. Nevertheless, men and women with homosexual tendencies must be accepted with respect and sensitivity. [However], in their regard should be avoided every sign of unjust discrimination’ (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith).”

Vatican Insider comments “In order to appreciate just how sensitive this topic is, it is important to note that not even a paragraph which essentially repeats what the Catechism of the Catholic Church and a former Holy Office text say, obtained the qualifying two thirds vote.”

While it is possible that some progressive bishops voted against this paragraph because it was too conservative, others, most likely a larger number, voted against because they found it too liberal. The language of a draft report, issued halfway though the synod had a very different tone. For example it read “Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community. Often they wish to encounter a church that offers them a welcoming home. Are our communities capable of providing that, accepting and valuing their sexual orientation, without compromising Catholic doctrine on the family and matrimony?”

Another par which raised the possibility of allowing remarried divorcees to take the sacraments was voted down, 104 to 74

The decision to release the text of pars that were not adopted, and the voting on each par was made by the Pope. Whether or not they welcomed it, catholic commentators conservative or liberal, observed that this new open-ness is a hallmark of Pope Francis.

That this is a real change was underlined by Neil Omerod, Professor of Theology at Australian Catholic University, in Eureka Street. “The recent reports from the Synod on the Family have been a real eye-opener for those used to being presented with an ecclesial fait accompli, with all debate and discussion behind closed doors. Topics on which the Church has put a relatively uniform face, at least at an official level, now reveals a degree of pluriformity not heard since the days of the Second Vatican Council.”