Pope Francis Summons Bishops From Around The World To Discuss Issues At 'Synod'
ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Pope Francis has summoned bishops from all over the world to discus hot button issues that concern Catholic families.
In Rockville Centre, schoolchildren at Holy Child watched in awe as Pope Francis addressed the world. They and their parents were plugged into his modern message of a more merciful church.
As CBS 2's Jennifer McLogan reported, a two-week Synod is now underway at the Vatican.
"It is about the family, the Synod, the whole thing is about family," Father Abraham Lokose, Diocese of Rockville Centre, explained.
"Each and every person is important and God is with all of us," Brother James McVeigh explained.
From Long Island to Rome people are talking about why so many in the Catholic Church have gone their own way.
Hoping to bring them back into the fold Pope Francis has convened a meeting of 200 cardinals and bishops along with a dozen lay observers to discuss hot button issues including contraception, pre-marital sex, and divorce.
At the advent shop in Rockville Centre there was hope among progressives and apprehension among conservatives.
"I do think he'll bring about change, but he won't change doctrine," one person said.
Concrete decisions from the Synod are still a year away.
"I think Pope Francis wants to let Catholics know that those people who struggle, it is a normal thing to struggle. They are still Catholic and we want them to feel God loves them and they are a part of our church," James Krug, Catholic League, Long Island Chapter.
Religious scholars predict that the outcome of the Synod will affect sexual ethics, contraception, divorce, and ultimately the Catholic church's relationship with the modern world.
A questionnaire filled out ahead of the Synod showed that the vast majority of Catholics reject church teaching on sex and contraception as intrusive and irrelevant.
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