VATICAN CITY
IOL
October 3 2014
By Jean-Louis De La Vaissiere
Reuters
Vatican City – Pope Francis looks set to have his mettle tested by his first mutiny in the ranks this weekend at a Catholic meeting on the contentious issue of traditional marriage.
The Church has long refused to relax rules for “sinners”, but amid a flurry of countries legalising same-sex marriage and a rise in divorce levels, reform-minded Francis has suggested there may be wiggle-room on doctrine, sparking panic among conservatives.
Hundreds of bishops will attend the October 5-19 synod at the Vatican and tensions are running high after weeks of heated sparring.
“On the one side there are those who fear openness will result in the Catholic doctrine crumbling away, and on the other there are those who are waiting for big news and may be disappointed,” Iacopo Scaramuzzi, Vatican expert for TMNews, told AFP TV.
Francis said last year that it was time to “re-examine… rules or precepts” and “certain customs” in the Church, calling for generosity towards wayward believer
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