Traditionalists oppose Pope’s liberal take on hot potato issues
Pope Francis. (Photo: AP)
Vatican City: Pope Francis was set to sort his allies from his enemies on Saturday with a Vatican vote on a document drafted at the end of a fierce two-week debate over opening the Catholic Church's doors to remarried divorcees and gays.
The vote will close a special synod of bishops which has seen conservatives clash publicly with liberals over a Francis-backed drive to reform the Church by softening its approach to sinners.
Ahead of the vote, the cardinals overwhelmingly approved a message to the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics stressing the value of “unique and indissoluble conjugal love” but without touching directly on the hot topic of non-traditional unions.
Several told a news conference they were confident the final synod document would pass with the necessary two-thirds majority on Saturday after Vatican experts raised the real possibility it could fail.
The vote has turned into a referendum. Francis, 77, has called for the Church to take a merciful approach to unwed mothers, remarried divorcees and gays, saying of homosexuals, “Who am I to judge?”
A preliminary report on Monday made waves by suggesting the Church should reach out to homosexuals, who have “gifts and qualities to offer the Christian community”, outraging traditionalists who had to be reminded by the Vatican that it was a work in progress.
A fresh report on Thursday summed up the reactions of 10 working groups of bishops, which mixed declarations of respect for homosexuals with fierce insistence that any opening up to sinners would imply the Church condoned their behaviour. The document is expected to take into account the amendments.
( Source : AFP )
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