Remember when, a few months into his papacy, His Holiness Pope Francis uttered the statement; “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” while aboard the papal plane after his visit to Brazil? This statement catalysed several discussions on what stance the Catholic Church might adopt towards homosexuality under the new Pope’s regime. Already, Pope Francis was proving to be different not only from his most recent predecessor-the Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, but he was also taking a stand away from how the Vatican generally avoided talk of the “taboo” topic. Fast forward to 13th October, 2014 where 18 months into the Pope’s reign, when a synod of Bishops that Pope Francis was presiding over released a document that called for the church to “welcome and accept gay people, unmarried couples and those who have divorced, as well as the children of these less traditional families.” The document, which was by no means the final verdict of the church on the issue was released on Monday last week, and went through a thorough, rigorous debate process amongst the church representatives present-clergy and laity alike. However, the revised proposal on homosexuality, that: “men and women with homosexual tendencies should be welcomed with respect and delicacy,” failed in a vote of 118 to 62 and a similar statement about opening the sacrament of Communion to divorced Catholics who remarry outside the church also failed in a vote of 104-74. Regardless of the fact that the move to change some of the church’s more stringent laws did not meet the required two-thirds majority vote, this shows that the Pope is following through with his stance on being more compassionate to the church’s members that do not follow the traditional path. With how close the results of the synod’s vote were to ensuring reform in the church, this is definitely not the last we shall hear of the issue, and the Pope will be organising a similar session next year in October with both sides expected to spend the next 12 months trying to either reinforce existing policy or trying to nudge the bishops toward a more open approach. In his concluding address, the Pope thanked the clergy and laity for their participation and remarked on how, as the Pope, it is his duty to guarantee the unity of the church, and on the next year’s plan he said, “Dear brothers and sisters, now we still have one year to mature, with true spiritual discernment, [sic] the proposed ideas and to find concrete solutions to so many difficulties and innumerable challenges that families must confront; to give answers to the many discouragements that surround and suffocate families." The Pope closed the synod to a standing ovation, and with the world waiting with bated breath on the outcomes of future discussions within the Catholic Church on homosexuality and marriage. This article was written by Mercy Angela Nantongo. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Marjorie Wang