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By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – An important meeting of Catholic bishops has ended on Saturday with a call to women for them to play a more important role in decision-making in the Church, as "duty of justice", but it seemed to soften a language that would have been more welcoming to gay people.
The role of women was at the center of the synod, which was aimed primarily at reaching young people but was eclipsed by the scandal of sexual abuse in the church and acrimony between social conservatives and reformers.
In a sign of division, the synod used what appeared to be a compromise language on the theme of homosexuality, stating that people could not be identified solely by their sexual orientation.
A working document for the meeting, which began on October 3, had used the acronym LGBT, but it did not appear in the final 60-page document.
The document also called for tougher measures to combat sexual abuse, including more transparency in church structures, and denounced an elitist culture among some church leaders who could facilitate concealment and corruption.
The three themes were among the topics discussed at the meeting. They were officially entitled "Youth, Faith and Discernment of Vocation" and brought together about 300 bishops, priests, nuns and lay participants.
Only "synod fathers", including bishops and some male representatives, were allowed to vote on the final document. It will be sent to the Pope, who will take it into account when he writes his own document.
Attention has been drawn to the issue of women's rights by the synod's own rules, under which two unordered monks who run religious orders have the right to vote, while a nun with a role similar was not. [L8N1X366M]
The Catholic Church limits the priesthood to men, but allows persons of both sexes who are not priests to exercise authority in other areas. However, none of the 60 Vatican departments is headed by a woman and only six women hold decision-making positions in the Vatican bureaucracy.
According to the document, young people thought that the Church was lagging behind in its attempts to give women "a place in decision-making processes" in jobs that are not reserved for priests.
UNAVOIDABLE CHANGE
"The synod recommends raising awareness (in the church) of the urgency of inevitable change …," the document says.
He called for "a female presence in church roles at all levels, even in positions of responsibility," which he called "the duty of justice."
The three sections on sexuality contained in the document were not as strong or as inclusive as some young people had wished, although this renews the Church's commitment against "any discrimination and violence based on sex ".
The LGBT acronym appeared for the first time in a Vatican document in the working paper for the synod published in May. This working paper said: "Some LGBT youth wish to benefit from greater closeness and greater attention from the Church."
But conservative bishops, including those in Africa and at least one of the United States, opposed this mention.
"There are no" LGBTQ Catholics "or" transgender Catholics "or" heterosexual Catholics ", as if our sexual appetite defines who we are …" said the Archbishop of Philadelphia , Charles Chaput, at the synod. .
The church teaches that having homosexual urges is not a sin, but that people should not act accordingly.
In its sections on the sexual abuse scandals that have marked the Church in a number of countries, the document advocated "vigorous preventive measures to prevent any repetition" and a call for stricter selection of men wishing to be priests.
(Report by Philip Pullella, edited by Peter Graff)
