Some bishops want a do-over

Surprising words of appreciation for homosexuals, couples living together outside marriage and others that appeared yesterday in a working document from a summit of Catholic bishops in Rome have triggered a media tumult on the outside, and sharp debate on the inside.

“While the Vatican tried to play down the significance of the document, insisting that it’s merely provisional, some bishops inside the Oct. 5-19 Synod of Bishops on the family seem to be taking it very seriously indeed.”

By John L. Allen, Jr., and Ines San Martin, Cruxnow.com — Click here to read the rest of this story.

Opposition grows to synod document that sees good in gay relationships, cohabitation and civil marriages

Senior church figures have expressed concern about a document issued by the bishops’ Synod on the Family yesterday proposing a landmark shift in the Church’s pastoral care of gay Catholics, cohabiting couples and those in civil marriages.

“Cardinal Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura – the Church’s supreme court – told The Tablet the text is ‘unacceptable.'”

By Hannah Roberts and Christopher Lamb, The Tablet — Click here to read the rest of this story.