Catholic bishops vote against lines welcoming gays in final synod report

Marking the end of a two-week synod called by Pope Francis at the Vatican, Catholic bishops voted on the final language included in a report on the proceedings. Paragraphs intended to offer a more merciful, welcoming tone toward gays did not make the cut, The Associated Press reports.

One paragraph which read, "people with homosexual tendencies must be welcomed with respect and delicacy," had already been watered-down from its original, more welcoming language. The line still failed to earn the two-thirds majority vote needed for inclusion. AP notes that the 118-62 vote on that paragraph in particular may have included some dissenting bishops who were upset that the rhetoric had been toned-down at all. Still, plenty of conservative leaders in the Church had vocally criticized the draft, which also offered a more tolerant take toward cohabiting, unmarried couples, along with divorced individuals.

"We could see that there were different viewpoints," Cardinal Oswald Gracis of India told reporters following the close of the synod.

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