WORLD NEWS OCTOBER 27, 2018 / 5:47 PM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO

Vatican meeting ends with call for greater role for women in Church

Philip Pullella
4 MIN READ

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A major meeting of Catholic bishops ended on Saturday with a call for women to play a greater role in Church decision making as a “duty of justice”, but appeared to water down language that would have been more welcoming to gays.

The role of women took center stage at the synod, which was focused on reaching out to young people but has been overshadowed by the scandal over sex abuse in the Church and acrimony between social conservatives and reformers.

In a sign of the divisions, the synod used what appeared to be compromise language on the topic of homosexuality, saying people could not be identified solely by sexual orientation.

A working paper for the gathering, which began on Oct. 3, had used the acronym LGBT, but this did not appear in the 60-page final document.

The document also called for stricter measures to combat sexual abuse, including more transparency in Church structures, and denounced a culture of elitism among some Church leaders which it said can facilitate cover-up and corruption.

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