Several questions at the synod briefing Oct. 15 regarded the presence of women and their lack of a vote.

First, can the synod use the term “L.G.B.T.” in its documents? Second, can the synod acknowledge that gay couples can form a “family”?

The church must go out and encounter young people “in detention centers, at the borders.”

Speaking to the Synod of Bishops on behalf of Belgium's bishops' conference, a bishop said he was sure some young married men would become priests if they were asked.

Initial reports from the synod on young people focus on sexual abuse, digital culture and creating a listening church.

Last week, a group of protestors, mostly women, gathered to call for women to be allowed to vote in the Synod on Youth, Young People and Vocational Discernment—a right that, some experts say, there is no canonical reason to deny.