ROME – Participants in Pope Francis’s ongoing Synod of Bishops on Synodality said Wednesday that Church doctrine is not up for discussion on issues such as women and the inclusion of LGBTQ+ Catholics, and that while opinions on these topics may differ, there is no “polarisation".

Speaking to journalists during an Oct. 11 press briefing, Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communications, said that his experience is that the synod “is not polarised".

“It is an experience of sharing…it’s a sharing of what we each want to say, whether it’s a question of gay people, or LGBTQ persons,” he said.