Gozo Bishop Mario Grech would have been a happier man had the Synod of bishops retained the original text on the Church’s relationship with gay people.

“I am happy with the document but I could have been happier with the outcome,” he said, when contacted yesterday in Rome for his reaction to the final document bishops approved on Saturday.

Mgr Grech was in Rome for the extraordinary two-week gathering of bishops from around the world that focused on the family.

The bishops discussed various issues, including the Church’s relationship with gay couples and whether divorced Catholics who remarried should be administered Holy Communion.

Different families, including those bound together by a civil union, contain hidden jewels

They took a vote on the individual paragraphs that made up the final document but, while all were approved with a two-thirds majority, the two paragraphs dealing with remarried divorcees and homosexuality only obtained “an absolute majority”.

The result was symptomatic of the rift that developed among bishops on how the Church should deal with the two morally charged issues.

Gozo Bishop Mario Grech.

Mgr Grech declined to indicate how he voted, insisting the ballot was secret.

“The final document was a step forward, but I wish we could have taken more steps forward,” he said.

The language in the final document dealing with gay people toned down the welcoming message in the first document released last week that summarised various interventions.

Gay rights advocates had welcomed what they felt was the bishops’ opening to gay people by acknowledging that they were also “gifts” to the Church.

The language was amended after pressure from the Church’s conservative wing, even if Pope Francis had urged bishops not to fear openness.

Mgr Grech had argued before his departure to the Synod, where he represented the Maltese Episcopal Conference, that, although the Church had its model of the family, it did not mean other family forms should be ignored.

In his intervention at the Synod, Mgr Grech said these families, including those bound together by a civil union, also contained “hidden jewels” such as love, generosity, a sense of justice, faithfulness, a life of prayer and hard work. These words were reflected in the initial document but were absent in the final version, which spoke more vaguely about the need to welcome “people with homosexual tendencies” and show them respect.

The conclusions will be used as a reflection for next year’s synod when the Pope will be expected to declare a final position.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com