The Catholic Church has wholly condemned the gay lifestyle for centuries, but a new doctrine proposes a greater acceptance of homosexuals.
Pope Francis assembled 200 bishops at the Vatican to discuss family issues. They released a document, known as a relatio post disceptationem, that challenges the Church to better include homosexuals "without compromising Catholic doctrine on the family and matrimony."
The Church still opposes gay marriage, but participants of the closed-door session want to avoid the use of phrases such as "intrinsically disordered" to describe homosexuals.
"Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community: are we capable of welcoming these people, guaranteeing to them a fraternal space in our communities," the document reads.
Pope Francis already has reaffirmed the Catholic Church does not condemn homosexual orientation, but does consider homosexual acts sinful, he stated last year. He also doesn't have a problem with gay people practicing the Catholic faith.
"If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?" he told reporters in Brazil in July 2013.
The Church also opened its position on heterosexual couples involved in civil marriages or living together before marriage. It used to consider these arrangements as "living in sin," another term some bishops want to phase out.
"In such unions, it is possible to grasp authentic family values or at least the wish for them," the document reads. The Church considers these relationships as a possible step toward a traditional Catholic marriage.
John Thavis, a Vatican expert and author of The Vatican Diaries, referred to the document as "an earthquake, 'the big one,'" that "clearly reflects Pope Francis' desire to adopt a more merciful pastoral approach on marriage and family issues."
The current assembly or synod will wrap up on Oct. 19 and release a final document, including revisions by the bishops. The Pope will convene a second synod next year to further discuss family matters.
