What happened? 

A debate over abortion has split the US bishops’ conference, with Church leaders disagreeing over its relative importance compared to other issues.

At the bishops’ plenary meeting in Baltimore, bishops debated whether to include a long quotation from Pope Francis to their letter to Catholic voters. The paragraph criticises those who focus too much on single issues, saying that while unborn children must be defended, “equally sacred” are the lives of the poor and vulnerable.

What the bishops said