The final document of Vatican Synod on Synodality presented pathways to a more inclusive and transparent church that gives all Catholics a say on the future of the institution. It proposed changes to canon law that would allow lay people to be better heard by their bishops, national bishops’ conferences and even the pope.

A major Vatican summit of global Catholic leaders ended on Saturday with a call for women to be granted more leadership roles in the Church but stopped short of calling for women to be ordained as clergy.

Cardinal Victor Fernandez, the Church's lead doctrine official, told the summit on Oct. 2 that "there is still no room for a positive decision" regarding women deacons. Fernandez's comments "caused strong distress inside and outside the synod hall", said Marinella Perroni, a widely respected Italian theologian.

A month-long Vatican summit has ended with a call for women to have more leadership roles in the Catholic Church, but not a call for women to be ordained as priests, as some progressives had hoped at the start of the process.