VATICAN CITY
Crux

By John L. Allen Jr.
Associate editor October 18, 2014

ROME – A dramatic Vatican summit of bishops ended Saturday night by significantly watering down an opening to both gays and divorced and remarried Catholics contained in an interim report released Monday.

The paragraphs on those two points — far tamer than the welcoming language contained in an interim report released Monday — were the only items that failed to receive a two-thirds majority of the Synod of Bishops.

Although they were favored by most of the bishops, they drew significant “no” votes, despite the more cautious language. The paragraph on gays and lesbians had a vote of 118-62, and that on the divorced and remarried drew 104 in favor and 74 opposed.

A Vatican spokesman said that means they did not reflect “a strong consensus of the entire synod.”