From October 5–19, bishops from around the globe gathered in Rome for the Extraordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the theme of “The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization.” The event led to what the Religion News Services called a “media tsunami” and appeared to cause waves within the hierarchy, as evidenced by frequent media updates from Vatican personnel like Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, synod general secretary, as well as representatives from the progressive and conservative wings of the hierarchy.

Speaking to CNN ahead of the synod, Cardinal Walter Kasper of Germany advocated for change to the prohibition on divorced and civilly remarried Catholics receiving Communion. Cardinal Raymond Burke, a conservative from the US, told CNS News that the policy denying Communion to divorced and remarried Catholics could not be changed and saying of the pope, “No, it’s not within his power.”

In addition to Burke, conservative cardinals were not in favor of reconsidering LGBT issues in the church, including Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of South Africa, who told Vatican Radio, “It’s a sideshow whether we should be talking about same-sex unions as marriages or not marriages.” There were a few arguably more positive comments on LGBT Catholics that came out of the synod. German Cardinal Reinhard Marx said, “We cannot say that since you are homosexual, you cannot experience the Gospel,” and added that doctrine “can develop over time,” according to the National Catholic Reporter.

A relatio, or early draft document released on October 13, included a section titled “welcoming homosexual persons” and an instruction that the church should approach those in “irregular” relationships—meaning divorced and civilly remarried—by “appreciating the positive values they contain.” Instead, the final draft published on October 18 only said that the church should show “pastoral attention” to persons with “homosexual orientation” and that the subject of sacraments for divorced Catholics requires further study. An initial call to “respect the dignity of the person in the moral evaluation of the methods of birth control” was also noticeably absent in the final draft.

The results of all votes, included with the final draft, revealed that while more liberal policies on divorce and LGBT relationships did not receive the necessary two-thirds majority of the 192 voting members, some bishops did vote in favor. However, according to the Catholic News Agency, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan said, “This synod, brothers, was one of consensus. Rather remarkable consensus, faithful to the authentic understanding of matrimony revealed by God.”

The synod is part of a two-year process that will continue with further discussion at the diocesan and parish levels next year, and an Ordinary Synod of Bishops next October, possibly followed by the publication of a statement from the pope.