VATICAN CITY — The Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist dealt with some hot-button issues — optional celibacy, ordination of married men, Communion for divorced and remarried, denying Communion to pro-abortion politicians — and expectations of change were widespread.

What happened instead, the synod's final propositions show, was a reaffirmation of Church teaching and discipline.

Besides, changing rules never was the purpose of the three-week meeting, which ended Oct. 23.

Entitled “The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church,” the synod coincided with the end of the Year of the Eucharist. Both the synod and the special year were called for by Pope John Paul II and brought to a close by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI. It was the largest gathering of bishops for a synod, aimed to bring about “a rebirth” of the Church's most precious and important sacrament.

And, although a “new evangelization” centered on the unfathomable and immutable Eucharistic mystery was this synod's long-term goal, its main role was to take the pulse of the Church for the benefit primarily of Pope Benedict.

So there was no recommended change on the sensitive topics of priestly celibacy — promoted by some Catholics as a means to alleviate the priest (and Eucharist) shortage in many parts of the world — and the ineligibility of divorced and remarried Catholics to receive holy Communion. While both issues were of great concern to the assembled synod fathers, Church teaching on both was also strongly reaffirmed.

On the issue of ordaining married men, most participants concluded that relaxing the rule on celibacy smacked of a “quick fix” that wouldn't resolve the underlying problem.

Ordaining viri probati (married men proven to have sufficient virtues to be priest) “would open another can of worms,” said one expert.

That caution was reinforced by representatives of Eastern Catholic Churches, such as Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir of Lebanon's Maronite Catholic Church. The Maronite Church allows married men to become priests, and he said half of its diocesan priests are married.

While admitting married men into the priesthood would solve some problems, it would “create other equally serious” problems, Patriarch Sfeir said in an Oct. 7 talk.

A married priest has to provide for his wife and children and their education, he said. It also becomes difficult, if not impossible, for the bishop to transfer a priest and his whole family if tensions arise in the parish because the priest “does not have a good relationship with his parishioners.”

So the synod fathers opted to underline “the importance of the inestimable gift of ecclesiastical celibacy in the practice of the Latin Church,” and agreed that ordaining viri probati was not a proper response to the shortage of priests which, for many, is due more to a “crisis of faith.”

The fathers instead called for renewed efforts to encourage priestly vocations and for priests to be “open to a more equitable distribution of clergy.”

The other hot button issue for the synod — that of divorced and illicitly remarried Catholics — proved more of a struggle.

“Of all the issues that caused a great deal of concern and anguish, that was the one,” said Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor of Westminster.

In the final synodal message, entitled “The Eucharist: Living Bread for the Peace of the World,” the synod fathers stressed that divorced and remarried Catholics, while not able to receive the Eucharist, are not excluded from the Church, and that the bishops wished to tell them “how close” they are to them “in prayer and pastoral concern.”

The teaching on denying Communion in such cases is not ecclesial but divine, stressed Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. That means that it did not originate from a Church decision that could therefore be changed by the Church; it originated in Christ's teaching, and so the Church has no power to alter it. The synod noted, however, that practical improvements were possible, such as improving the efficiency of marriage tribunals.

Most bishops were less focused on the issue of whether Catholic politicians, whose public policy stands are in opposition to Church teaching on crucial issues like abortion, should be denied Communion, an issue seen by many participants as mainly a U.S. concern. No. 46 of the list of 50 propositions agreed upon by the synod and presented to Pope Benedict XVI stated that Catholic politicians must show “Eucharistic coherence,” and avoid promoting laws that go against human good, justice and natural law.

But there was no declaration that Communion should be automatically denied when such politicians fail to comply. Instead, “bishops should exercise the virtues of firmness and prudence, taking account of concrete local situations.”

One of the most recurring themes raised by the synod fathers was poor Mass attendance and lack of understanding among Catholics of the Eucharist. Many bishops highlighted the need to catechize Catholics on the importance of interior preparation and Confession to prepare properly to receive Communion.

The synod's final propositions suggested a “Compendium on the Eucharist” be published, while the final message advocated “better formation” in families and to “re-establish a strategy” for catechesis.

For developing world bishops, social justice was a key concern. The synod final message stressed that the gap between rich and poor is an injustice, which “cries out to heaven,” and affirmed that such sufferings cannot remain “extraneous” to the Eucharist.

In the field of ecumenism, the bishops stressed that sharing of the Eucharist among members of different confessions could not be utilized as a means of achieving a unity in faith that did not already exist. Consequently, non-Catholics cannot generally receive Communion, the synod fathers noted, and their final message pointed to the “healthy discipline” of precise regulations that prevent “confusion and imprudent gestures that might further damage true communion.”

One liturgical issue that received attention was the sign of peace. A number of bishops advocated that it be moved to another point of the liturgy, to minimize the possibility that it will distract attention from reception of Communion. The final list of propositions suggested consideration of moving it to somewhere before the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

At the conclusion of the synod, Pope Benedict authorized publication of the synod's 50 propositions, a break from the usual practice of utilizing them as a private resource to be drawn upon for the traditional post-synodal papal exhortation.

That gesture was interpreted by some as an indication that the Holy Father might not write an exhortation at all, in keeping with a comment he made recently in a Vatican Radio interview that “my personal mission is not to issue many new documents.” But speaking at the synod's conclusion Oct. 23, the Pope said that the postsynodal exhortation will “portray the face of the ‘Catholic’ community” that finds its strength and unity in the Eucharist.

In fact, if the participation of the Holy Father is widely seen as key to the synod's significance and effectiveness, then the omens are good: Benedict attended nearly all of the sessions, took the opportunity to meet and spend time with every delegate and was observed listening intently to each contribution.

(CNS and Zenit contributed to this report. See additional synod coverage on page 5.)

Edward Pentin writes from Rome.