Pope Francis opened the synod by saying Mass at St Peter's Basilica
Pope Francis is
celebrating Mass at St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, at the start of a
synod of Roman Catholic bishops focusing on family issues.
The run-up was dominated by a row over a Vatican priest who on Saturday announced he was in a gay relationship.
Poland-born Krzysztof Charamsa said he wanted to challenge the Church's "backward" attitude to homosexuality.
He was later dismissed from his post at the Vatican's office in charge of guarding Roman Catholic doctrine.
A
Vatican spokesman said Monsignor Charamsa's decision to give interviews
on the eve of the synod was "grave and irresponsible" and would put
Pope Francis under "undue media pressure".
In an interview with the Corriere Della Sera newspaper,
the 43-year-old priest said: "It's time the Church opened its eyes and
realised that offering gay believers total abstinence from a life of
love is inhuman."
The controversy has set the scene for what some
fear could be a fractious three weeks, says BBC religious affairs
correspondent Caroline Wyatt.
The Synod - a defining moment for Pope Francis
Almost
300 Church leaders - and some lay people - will be discussing such
issues as the treatment of Catholics who are gay, and how to approach
couples who live together without being married or wish to take
communion after being divorced.
Analysis: Caroline Wyatt, BBC News
It
is the most highly-anticipated meeting of the leaders of the Roman
Catholic church since the Second Vatican council, some 50 years ago.
In
his homily today, the Pope spoke of the importance of the family - and
perhaps rather pointedly, of the love between a man and a woman. He also
said that the wealth of the developed world hadn't led to greater
happiness, but to loneliness, and higher rates of abortion and divorce.
Many
campaigners and more liberal Catholics would like to see a change in
Catholic doctrine on issues ranging from homosexuality to contraception.
But
while some bishops here do want reform, others remain fiercely opposed.
In the end, though, the synod is not a democracy. It will be up to the
Pope to decide what - if anything - changes, and how the Church applies
its teaching to its sometimes errant flock.
The Pope has called for a more understanding attitude on sexual issues.
After
his election in 2013, Pope Francis reaffirmed the Roman Catholic
Church's position that homosexual acts were sinful, but said homosexual
orientation was not.
"If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?" he said.
The issue of homosexuality was also highlighted during the Pope's visit to the US last week.
He had a private meeting with a gay former student of his and his boyfriend at the Vatican mission in Washington.
The
Pope also met Kim Davis, a Kentucky local official who recently gained
attention for refusing to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples.
Title : Pope Francis opens Roman Catholic synod amid gay row
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