Conservative clerics scorn Vatican synod's 'soft stance' on homosexuality, divorce

A day after the Vatican synod released a report urging the church to soften its stance towards homosexuals and same-sex marriages, several conservative catholic bishops have distanced themselves from the viewpoint by saying that the document does not reflect their views and vowed to make changes to the final version.

While Cardinal Stanislaw Gadecki, the head of the Polish bishops' conference who is attending the synod, called the report "unacceptable" and a "deviation" from the church's teachings on Tuesday, the head of the Vatican's supreme court, hard-line American Cardinal Raymond Burke, claimed that the Vatican was releasing "manipulated" information about the observations being made at the synod and that it didn't reflect the "consistent number of bishops" who opposed such a view, reported News 24.

The document produced halfway through a two-week meeting convened by Pope Francis had earlier said that gays had "gifts to offer the church" and asked the church if it was willing to welcome them and provide them a fraternal space in the community.

It also exhorted the church to welcome divorced people and recognize the "positive" aspects of civil marriages and even Catholics who cohabit.

However, following public outcry, organizers of the synod have said that the document was merely a working paper that would be amended.