By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Conservative Catholics have launched a barrage of challenges before a big Vatican meeting, with five ...
SaltWire's Atlantic regional weather forecast for October 2, 2023 | SaltWireVATICAN CITY - Conservative Catholics have launched a barrage of challenges before a big Vatican meeting, with five cardinals demanding clarifications on same-sex couples and other issues, and a women's group saying only men should vote at the event.
The Vatican said it had no comment on the cardinals' action - the latest clash between the pope and minority conservatives, who have accused him of undermining a number of traditional precepts. At the meeting, around 365"members", including cardinals, bishops, lay people and, for the first time, women will vote on proposals.
The are 242 cardinals in the Church and it was not clear if the five had asked any others to join. One well-known critic of Francis, German Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, was not among the signatories. One question asked if same-sex couples could receive blessings, which some priests have done in a number of countries, notably Germany, even though the Vatican ruled against such blessings in 2021.The cardinals said they wanted a clear reaffirmation of the Church's teaching that homosexual acts are sinful.
Conservatives have taken issue with the fact that many lay people will have voting rights in a what is formally a Synod of Bishops. They say the Church should remain a male-dominated hierarchal structure where authority, particularly on doctrine, should flow from the top.
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