Pope Francis calls for more merciful Catholic Church

Pope Francis concluded a three-week summit on families for Catholic Church leaders by sharply criticizing elders who use faith to exclude people instead of showing mercy, The Washington Post reports.

"A faith that does not know how to grow roots into the lives of people stays barren," he said Sunday in a Mass at St. Peter's Basilica. "And instead of an oasis, it creates more deserts."

The divisive synod focused on the changing meaning of family in Catholicism, primarily with regard to welcoming divorced and remarried couples. One provision in the 94-point document endorsed by the 275 synod fathers urges the case-by-case evaluation of remarried Catholics seeking Communion, arguing not all circumstances of divorce are the same, The Associated Press reports.

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To a lesser extent, the synod also touched on same-sex couples, with the document endorsed by leaders recognizing the "dignity" of gay people but stressing the church's stance that same-sex unions are not "God’s design for matrimony and family."