Vatican synod rejects openness towards homosexuality in final report

The proposal for wider acceptance of homosexuals has reportedly failed to win a two-thirds majority at the Vatican synod convened by Pope Francis.

A draft report that was issued midway through the meeting had urged the Church to soften its stance towards homosexuals and divorced Catholics who have remarried. However, the text was watered down in the final report approved by the council. The revised document only said that discrimination against gay people "is to be avoided," reported the BBC.

After the voting was over, Pope Francis appealed to the conservatives to not lock themselves within the written word and to allow oneself to be "surprised by God."

The Pope also said that the full draft of the report, including the rejected paragraphs, should be published.