The final report issued by the attendees of the historic Extraordinary Synod on the Family contains none of the controversial language of the interim working document and signals more work to be done at next year’s Synod.

Commenting on Sunday’s gospel during yesterday’s Mass which closed the Synod and beatified Pope Paul VI, Pope Francis reminded the faithful that Jesus’ admonition to “Render to God the things that are God” means “being docile to his will, devoting our lives to him” and working for his kingdom of mercy, love and peace.

“In these days, during the extraordinary Synod of Bishops, we have seen how true this is. ‘Synod’ means ‘journeying together’. And indeed pastors and lay people from every part of the world have come to Rome, bringing the voice of their particular Churches in order to help today’s families walk the path the Gospel with their gaze fixed on Jesus.

“It has been a great experience, in which we have lived synodality and collegiality, and felt the power of the Holy Spirit who constantly guides and renews the Church. For the Church is called to waste no time in seeking to bind up open wounds and to rekindle hope in so many people who have lost it. For the gift of this Synod and for the constructive spirit which everyone has shown, in union with the Apostle Paul ‘we give thanks to God always for you all, constantly mentioning you in our prayers’. May the Holy Spirit, who during these busy days has enabled us to work generously, in true freedom and humble creativity, continue to guide the journey which, in the Churches throughout the world, is bringing us to the Ordinary Synod of Bishops in October 2015. We have sown and we continued to sow, patiently and perseveringly, in the certainty that it is the Lord who gives growth to what we have sown.”

As the Catholic News Agency reports, the much anticipated final version of the Synod’s report was voted upon by the Synod Fathers paragraph by paragraph. All paragraphs received at least a simple majority with three failing to gain two-thirds of the votes required for approval of synodal documents.

Two of these paragraphs concerned controversial proposals by German Cardinal Walter Kasper that would allow the divorced and civilly remarried to receive Communion. The other concerned homosexuality in which verbiage from the working document about “welcoming homosexuals” was changed to “pastoral attention to persons with homosexual orientation”. This paragraph also nixed a statement about same-sex unions being a “precious support in the life of the partners”.

According to Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, the absence of a two thirds majority indicated a lack of consensus and a need for more discussion at the October 2015 Wprld Synod on the Family.

The fathers unanimously agreed on the second paragraph of the document, which reads: “Despite the many signals of crisis of the institution of the family in the diverse contexts of the ‘global village’, the wish for a family is still alive, especially among young people, and this motivates the Church, expert in humanity and faithful to her mission, to tirelessly and with profound conviction announce the ‘Gospel of the family’.”

The final report provides the same view of the current situation of the family as the midterm report contained but addresses positive testimonies of the family and the role of grandparents.

“The final report also addresses the importance of the affective life,” CNA reports, citing the risks of living selfishly in today’s world.

“The Church’s challenge is to help couples in the maturation of their emotional dimension and in the affective development through the promotion of dialogue, of virtue, and of trust in the merciful love of God,” the final document reads.

“The final report also emphasized the need for a positive reception of Humanae vitae, Paul VI’s encyclical on regulation of birth, which highlighted many positive aspects of family life and reaffirmed the doctrine of the Church,” CNA reports.

Even though this is the final report of the Extraordinary Synod, this is not a definitive document either, but will merely serve as the working document for the 2015 World Synod on the Family.

It is only after this second Synod takes place that the Holy Father will issue a post-synodal apostolic exhortation which will address how the Church is being called to confront the challenges facing family’s today.

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