VATICAN CITY
Agence-France Presse
October 27, 2018
By Catherine Marciano and Ella Ide
Hailed as a chance for the Catholic Church to reconnect with today’s young, a month-long meeting at the Vatican ended with a whimper Saturday as bishops from across continents fail to see eye to eye.
The 267 prelates attending the meet had been tasked with finding a way to breathe fresh life into a centuries-old institution suffering from both a damaging global sex abuse crisis and widespread secularity in the West.
Pope Francis appeared to acknowledged the difficulties of presenting an attractive front, saying the church was being “persecuted” and “dirtied” by “continuous accusations” — a possible reference to his conservative critics.
He said the concluding document from the meeting, or synod, was “for all of us, me included”, and “must work in our hearts”.
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