Vatican's Wild and Crazy Synod on the Family by David Gibson

http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/seven-lessons-vaticans-wild-and-crazy-synod-family

Francis himself also made it clear at the end of the meeting that he wants the church to be open to "new things," and he ordered that the "defeated" proposals still be included in the text. It is likely that over the next year or two, he will also appoint more like-minded cardinals and bishops who will push for changes...

Amid all the lobbying and armchair analysis, it's important to step back and realize that in the three decades before Francis was elected pope, bishops, priests and theologians could have been investigated, censured, silenced or fired for many of the ideas that were being openly discussed at the synod.

That is perhaps the real earthquake, and it's one that Francis himself wanted.

On the other hand, be careful what you pray for. Francis has long urged Catholics to say what they think without fear of reprisals. Opening the synod, he again reminded the participants that he had just one condition for their talks: "Speak clearly. Let no one say: 'This you cannot say.' "

And by all accounts, they did, with great passion inside the synod hall, but even more sharply in the press. The various interest groups seeking to influence the discussions were often much less diplomatic. As one cardinal put it to the Catholic news site Crux, at a certain point, open discussion becomes "chaos."....