CATHOLIC bishops have scrapped their
landmark welcome to gays, showing deep divisions at the end of a
two-week meeting sought by Pope Francis to chart a more merciful
approach to ministering to Catholic families.
The bishops approved a final report covering a host of issues
related to Catholic family life, acknowledging there were “positive
elements” in civil heterosexual unions outside the church and even in
cases when men and women were living together outside marriage.
They
also said the church must respect Catholics in their moral evaluation
of “methods used to regulate births,” a seemingly significant deviation
from church teaching barring any form of artificial contraception.
