The Catholic Church inched closer to giving Communion to remarried divorcees under a measure narrowly approved Saturday at a contentious meeting of priests, bishops and cardinals at the Vatican. 
 
 The synod’s final statement, meanwhile, said there is “no foundation whatsoever” for homosexual marriage, while declaring that gays should be treated with respect and without discrimination. 
 
 The issue of giving Communion to remarried Catholics served as a battle line for conservatives and progressives at the synod, with the former defending church laws while the latter pushed for more merciful treatment — an ongoing theme of Pope Francis's tenure. 
 
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 “In the course of this synod, the different opinions which were freely expressed — and at times, unfortunately, not in entirely well-meaning ways — certainly led to a rich and lively dialogue,” Pope Francis said in his final speech to the sometimes argumentative synod after the voting concluded. 
 
 Pope Francis Gregorio Borgia / Associated Press Pope Francis speaks in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on June 14, 2015. Pope Francis speaks in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on June 14, 2015. (Gregorio Borgia / Associated Press) (Gregorio Borgia / Associated Press) 
 
 The closely watched measure says priests could bring remarried divorcees back into the life of the church on a case-by-case basis. No clear green light was given to offer them Communion, but the language could give Pope Francis a precedent to ease rules in the future. 
 
 Officially, the pope has the last word on the work of the gathering and is free to accept or ignore its advice. In the conclusion of the synod document, the 270 prelates stated that the document was for the pope’s attention and that members “humbly” asked him to issue his own document. 
 
 On Saturday, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said he had “no idea” if and when Francis would issue a definitive document. 
 
 The church traditionally has excluded those who remarry from Communion because it sees the first marriage as remaining valid, meaning the person is living in sin. 
 
 With a two-thirds majority required in voting for each of the 94 points in the synod’s final document, the measure on the remarried won 178 “yes” votes, one more than the 177 needed, while 80 prelates voted against it. 
 
 A second measure that also discusses divorcees, and which scraped through with 187 “yes” votes, said priests needed to look at various ways the remarried are now excluded from the life of the church and decide “which can be overcome.” 
 
 “The document does not specifically mention their participation in the sacrament, but it puts it on the table, so it is a success for those who wanted to open up the discussion,” said Austen Ivereigh, a biographer of Pope Francis. “This allows both sides to move on with integrity — it’s a very Catholic result,” he said. 
 
 “Remarried divorcees may now be invited to take part as catechists, even if Communion will be left until later,” he added. 
 
 In his final speech to synod fathers, Pope Francis, who was given a standing ovation, suggested that getting prelates from around the world to debate family issues in a frank fashion was an achievement in itself. 
 
 “It was about showing the vitality of the Catholic Church, which is not afraid to stir dulled consciences or to soil her hands with lively and frank discussions about the family,” he said. 
 
 But he also had tough words for conservative bishops, saying the aim of the synod was “about laying bare the closed hearts” who “sit in the chair of Moses and judge, sometimes with superiority and superficiality, difficult cases and wounded families.” He also talked of battling “conspiracy theories” and “blinkered hearts.” 
 
 The open challenges to the pope’s views on the merciful treatment of Catholics prompted American Cardinal Donald Wuerl to suggest some inside the synod “just don’t like this Pope.” 
 
 The synod did not make any changes to church thinking on homosexuality. A single paragraph dedicated to the subject suggested that progressives chose not to take on conservatives. While stating that homosexuals should be treated with respect and without discrimination, the paragraph said there was “no foundation whatsoever” for homosexual marriage, which “could not even remotely” be compared to heterosexual marriage. 
 
 That marked a sharp contrast in tone with a paragraph inserted into a provisional document last year issued during a preliminary synod on the family. The paragraph, titled “Welcoming homosexual persons,” stated that homosexuals had “gifts and qualities” and should be offered a “fraternal space” in the church. 
 
 Although the words indicated no shift from Catholicism’s doctrinal opposition to homosexual sex or gay unions, it was interpreted by many analysts as a change in the Vatican’s traditionally tough tone on homosexuality. 
 
 But the paragraph was excluded from the final document put to a vote at the meeting last year, as a result of pressure from conservatives. 
 
 Kington is a special correspondent. 
 
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 Georgia man faces prison -- again -- for stealing sea turtle eggs ||||| VATICAN CITY (AP) — Declaring that "today is a time of mercy," Pope Francis on Sunday closed a historic meeting of bishops that approved an important new direction in welcoming divorced and civilly remarried Catholics into the church. 
 
 Pope Francis holds the Gospel Book as he celebrates a Mass to mark the end of the Synod of bishops, in St.Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015. Catholic bishops called Saturday for a... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo taken with a fish-eye lens Pope Francis celebrates a Mass to mark the end of the Synod of bishops, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015. Catholic bishops called... (Associated Press) 
 
 Pope Francis celebrates a Mass to mark the end of the Synod of bishops, in St.Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) (Associated Press) 
 
 Pope Francis holds the Gospel Book as he celebrates a Mass to mark the end of the Synod of bishops, in St.Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015. Catholic bishops called Saturday for a... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo taken with a fish-eye lens Pope Francis celebrates a Mass to mark the end of the Synod of bishops, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015. Catholic bishops called... (Associated Press) 
 
 The synod's endorsement, by a single vote, of Francis' call for a more merciful, less judgmental church was a clear victory for Francis and the progressive prelates who have been seeking wiggle room in church teaching to allow remarried Catholics to receive Communion. Conservatives had objected, citing church doctrine, but they couldn't muster the votes needed to block passage of the final document. 
 
 With the badly divided church hierarchy before him in St. Peter's Basilica, Francis took veiled aim Sunday at those in the church who place more importance on doctrine and law than on God's mercy and forgiveness. 
 
 He warned them of the risk of "becoming habitually unmoved by grace," of turning a cold shoulder to God's most wounded children and of a "spiritual illusion" that doesn't let them see the reality of their flock and respond to it. 
 
 "A faith that does not know how to root itself in the life of people remains arid and, rather than oases, creates other deserts," he said, adding that moments of suffering and conflict are precisely the occasions for God to show mercy. "Today is a time of mercy!" 
 
 Without changing church doctrine, the 275 synod "fathers" on Saturday approved a 94-point final document on responding better to the needs of today's Catholic families. The text covered a host of issues — migration, poverty, single parents and polygamy — but the most disputed section concerned whether civilly remarried Catholics can receive Communion. 
 
 Church teaching holds that without an annulment, these Catholics are essentially committing adultury and cannot receive Communion. 
 
 While the document doesn't chart a specific path to receiving the sacraments as originally sought by liberal prelates — and doesn't even mention the word Communion — it opens the door to case-by-case exceptions by citing the role of discernment and individual conscience in spiritual direction. 
 
 The key paragraph says a case-by-case approach is necessary when dealing with remarriage since not everyone bears the same responsibility for the failure of the first marriage. It passed with only one vote more than the two-thirds majority necessary. 
 
 Its passage will give Francis the room to maneuver if he wants to push the issue further in a future document of his own. German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who spearheaded the German theological initiative that was decisive to getting the majority, said he hoped that Francis would issue it during his upcoming Jubilee Year of Mercy, which starts Dec. 8. 
 
 British Cardinal Vincent Nichols said the synod marked a "decisive" moment for the church in reasserting the role that pastoral practice, more than doctrine, must play in accompanying the faithful. 
 
 "Not everything is a matter of doctrine. Not everything is decided by doctrinal disputes," Nichols told reporters Sunday. "There is a richness of the tradition of the church and its pastoral practice, which we have to recover and make central again." 
 
 ___ 
 
 Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield ||||| After a three-week bishops meeting, or synod, on issues including divorce and homosexuality, Pope Francis criticizes church leaders who "bury their heads in the sand" on matters pertaining to family issues. (Reuters) 
 
 After a three-week bishops meeting, or synod, on issues including divorce and homosexuality, Pope Francis criticizes church leaders who "bury their heads in the sand" on matters pertaining to family issues. (Reuters) 
 
 Pope Francis on Sunday appeared to lecture church elders at the closing of a landmark summit on the family here, suggesting they should not be quick to exclude a broad array of people deserving of God’s grace. 
 
 In a Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica to mark the end of the three-week summit — known as a synod — Francis seemed to target narrowness, focusing his homily on the biblical story of a blind man named Bartimaeus whom Jesus engages during a journey. 
 
 “None of the disciples stopped, as Jesus did,” Francis said in what at times appeared to be a scolding tone. 
 
 He continued, “if Bartimaeus was blind, they were deaf. His problem was not their problem. This can be a danger for us. In the face of constant problems, it is better to move on, instead of letting ourselves be bothered. In this way, just like the disciples, we are with Jesus but we do not think like him.” 
 
 “We can speak about him, work for him, but still live far from his heart which is focused on those who are wounded,” the pontiff said. “This is the temptation of the spirituality of mirage.” 
 
 He added, “A faith that does not know how to grow roots into the lives of people stays barren. And instead of an oasis, it creates more deserts.” 
 
 Francis’s blunt message came after divided clerics at the synod summit echoed the more inclusive tone of Francis on Saturday, extending a more welcoming hand to divorced and unmarried couples but stopping short of calling for clear alterations in church policies. The synod marked the culmination of a two-year process to recalibrate the faith’s approach to families in the 21st century. Under Francis’s direction, bishops and cardinals set a new precedent by tackling issues once considered taboo in the Roman Catholic Church. 
 
 Yet the significant opposition in the synod to rapid changes in rules also suggested how far off Catholics may yet be from seeing Francis’s revolutionary style turned into practice. 
 
 The document, in some respects, went further than some thought possible earlier in the week. But even top clerics conceded that liberal Catholics with high expectations of change under Francis might still come away disappointed. 
 
 “We have to be always cautious that there aren’t false expectations,” said Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington. “One false expectation is that Catholic teachings would be changed. That is not going to happen.” 
 
 While a bellwether of the hierarchy’s thinking from its most heated gathering since the reforming Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, the synod’s final communique amounts only to a list of recommendations for Francis. Rather than overhaul church doctrine — or the fundamental truths and teachings of the church — the question largely facing Francis is whether to alter procedures and empower bishops and priests to make more independent decisions on the ground. 
 
 [A growing Catholic divide over divorce and homosexuality] 
 
 In perhaps the most significant pronouncement, clerics sought to find more ways for divorced Catholics to participate in church life. Yet, to assuage the concerns of conservatives, the question of whether a door should be opened for divorced and remarried Catholics — who the church teaches are living in a state of adultery — to take communion at Mass was left vague. 
 
 Liberals argued that the language paved the way for Francis to endorse such a shift, while conservatives took heart that it does not explicitly call for one. Such a change, however, would reflect a practice already happening, as some parish priests have decided to offer communion to such couples despite church policy. 
 
 Inclusion of the clause came after a breakthrough among the German cardinals. Cardinal Walter Kasper, a liberal lion with the pope’s ear who championed a path to communion for such couples through penance, came to terms on language with Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, an archconservative. The result was wording that could be broadly interpreted without directly mentioning the right to return to communion. 
 
 In a church that teaches that homosexuality is “intrinsically disordered,” the document also recognized the “dignity” of gays and lesbians. But it stopped far short of endorsing the most liberal proposals on same-sex couples — including one by a Belgian bishop to recognize the spiritual value of such unions. In fact, the synod declared that same-sex unions could not “remotely” be compared with “God’s design for matrimony and family.” 
 
 The synod was more embracing of cohabiting heterosexuals, stating that some couples may not marry in the church for cultural or economic reasons. Their bonds, the synod concluded, could nevertheless involve the kind of “lasting” and “reliable” ties that can lead to marriage. 
 
 In a speech after receiving a list of 94 recommendations from the synod of bishops and cardinals, Francis acknowledged the rifts among clerics, noting that differences of opinion were freely expressed and “at times, unfortunately, not in entirely well-meaning ways.” 
 
 He noted the task ahead as he seeks to find a Solomonesque way to bridge those differences, particularly given the cultural gulfs among the world’s more than 1 billion Catholics. They include those living in the most liberal parishes of Western Europe and the United States as well as far more conservative ones, often based in parts of the developing world where the Catholic Church is growing most. 
 
 “We have seen that what is normal for a bishop on one continent is considered strange and almost scandalous for a bishop on another,” Francis said. 
 
 [A pope for all seasons] 
 
 Yet the ambiguity of the synod also puts Francis in a highly difficult position. If he fails to change the status quo enough, he risks disappointing liberal Catholics — as well as many non-Catholics — who have heralded him as an agent of change. 
 
 But going too far beyond the synod’s recommendations could alienate many in his divided hierarchy, triggering an even stronger backlash among conservatives, some of whom are openly questioning the direction of his papacy. 
 
 Cardinals and bishops here were divided over what course they thought the pope would take. 
 
 “He has proven himself to be a man of surprises,” said Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane, Australia. 
 
 Liberals at the synod were being pragmatic, saying they were impressed they got as far as they did. “This synod has put an end to judging,” said the Rev. Lucas Van Looy, the bishop of Ghent, Belgium. “This is a welcoming church. . . . For me this is the word that has been most important in the synod: tenderness.” 
 
 The synod on family issues marked the Vatican’s second in two years, with a meeting last year touching off the debates on divorce and homosexuality. Unlike last year, when several controversial clauses failed to garner a required two-thirds majority, all the recommendations made this time reached that bar. But some said that was partly because of an attempt to make the language more palatable and ambiguous. Signaling the intensity of the debate, there were more than 1,300 amendments proposed by the more than 260 delegates. 
 
 This year, homosexuality became less a focus than divorce. But some conservative bishops argued that the synod was being hijacked by liberals overwhelmingly focused on “Western” or “Eurocentric” issues. 
 
 Bishop Joseph Anthony Zziwa, a conservative Ugandan bishop, said there had been far too much talk about homosexuality, which is criminalized in his country, as well as divorce. Bishops even disagreed initially on the definition of a family — which in Africa, he said, often means extended families, compared with nuclear ones in Europe and the United States. 
 
 Africans more generally, he said, had far bigger problems . 
 
 “You keep asking someone from Nigeria to tell me about homosexuality, to tell me about divorce, when five of his children have been abducted by Boko Haram? You think that person has time to talk about that?” he said. 
 
 The divisions were geographic as well as ideological — with conservatives representing proportionately higher numbers in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. Some bishops said they were surprised by how open some of the Italian and Spanish-speaking delegates were to reform. 
 
 But there were limits. Bishop Johan Bonny of Antwerp, Belgium, said that when he raised the idea in his working group at the synod that committed same-sex relationships could have spiritual value, “bad feelings came up.” 
 
 In the end, he said he was pleased that the synod did not delve deeper into the issue of homosexuality. 
 
 “That is a point for next time,” he said. “Better to leave it for later than discuss it in a hot and bad atmosphere.” 
 
 Correction: An earlier version of this report incorrectly described the Rev. Lucas Van Looy as the bishop of Tielen, Belgium. He is the bishop of Ghent, Belgium. 
 
 Read more: 
 
 Pope Francis in America 
 
 How Catholics feel about abortion, immigration and gay marriage 
 
 When popes hit the road, here’s where they go 
 
 Stefano Pitrelli in Vatican City contributed to this report.
– Pope Francis closed out a three-week bishops' synod on Sunday with something of a victory lap, appearing to chastise conservative Catholic leaders for excluding swaths of the faithful, including divorced and gay Catholics. "A faith that does not know how to grow roots into the lives of people stays barren. And instead of an oasis, it creates more deserts," he said, at times appearing "to lecture," as the Washington Post puts it. "Today is a time of mercy," he said, per the AP. Francis made significant headway in his quest for a more inclusive, forgiving church, reports the New York Times, with the synod opening "church doors ... just a crack" by way of clearing the way to offer communion to those who have divorced or are unmarried but living together. But the synod, though the Times notes it emphasized that gays should be respected, swung those church doors soundly shut on gay marriage, reports the Los Angeles Times, declaring it to have "no foundation whatsoever." Consensus seems to be that while the church tacked to the left, it did so tacitly in deference to conservatives. But the pope is where the rubber meets the road, notes the New York Times: The synod asked him to release his own paper on the family, which he's expected to do and which could even be presented as an encyclical. That process, however, could take up to a year.