VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis’ years-long process Reform in the Catholic Church It closed Saturday with recommendations that fell short of giving women greater equality as hoped but reflected the pope’s goal of a church that at least listens more to its followers.

In a significant move, the pope said he would not issue a teaching document from his recommendations calling for women to be allowed all the opportunities Church law currently provides, while leaving open the controversial question of allowing women to be ordained deacons.

As a result, it remains unclear whether the synod’s final recommendations will have any authority or effect, given that the purpose of the exercise is to present specific recommendations on reform to the pope.

While announcing his decision, the Pope said, “In this time of war, we must witness peace” and set an example of living with differences.

Francis stated that he would continue to listen to the advice of the bishops and said, “This is not a classic way of postponing decisions indefinitely.”

Deacons perform many of the same functions as priests, such as presiding over baptisms, weddings, and funerals, but they cannot celebrate sacraments. Advocates say allowing women to become deacons would help address the priest shortage. Opponents say it would mark the beginning of a slippery slope towards the appointment of women to the all-male priesthood, which Francis has repeatedly endorsed.

Earlier this week, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, the Vatican’s top doctrinal official, told an extraordinary meeting of 368 bishops and laity that Francis told them it was “immature” to allow women to be ordained as deacons. She did not directly respond to a request to define what would determine “maturity” for a greater role for women.

The multi-year synod process sparked high hopes for change, especially for women who have long complained that they are treated as second-class citizens in the church. Women are barred from the church’s highest ministerial positions, but they take the lion’s share of running Catholic hospitals and schools and passing on the faith to future generations.

Speaking at the synod on Thursday, Fernandez announced that a special working group would continue after the meeting’s close, but that its focus would be to discuss the issue. the role of women in the church – not in the diaconate or deacon office. He added that while he had worked with women in previous pastoral roles, “many did not or did not seek the diaconate, which would be burdensome for their lay work.”

The meeting demanded “the full implementation of all opportunities currently provided in Canon Law with regard to the role of women, especially where women have not been adequately researched”. It leaves open “the question of women’s access to diaconal ministry.”

This was the most discussed paragraph of the final document, with 258 votes in favor and 97 against. It was unclear whether the “no” votes were because the language went too far or did not go far enough.

The result was a disappointment for Catholics who had been campaigning for recognition that women share a spiritual calling no different from men. They also noted that although women were included in the synodal process, the working group that guided discussions on the role of women was led by the Roman pontiff, who operated outside the synod.

“I think the final document will be met with great disappointment and disappointment by many women around the world who were hoping for concrete changes,” said Kate McElwee, executive director of the Women’s Coordinating Conference.

While she acknowledged that there was “a cultural change,” she said “the pace of that change is perhaps too slow for many women.”

first stage of the synod process It ended last year by concluding that it was “urgent” to guarantee greater participation of women in church government positions and calling for continued theological and pastoral research on allowing women to become deacons.

Although the idea of ​​allowing women to become deacons before the synod was an extreme proposal put forward by Western progressives, it gained attention during the debate. This has become a litmus test for how far the church will and will go to meet women’s demands for greater equality and representation at the highest levels of the church.

Francis had other ideas; He insisted that binding women to ordination would only lead to “clericalizing” them, and that there were many other ways to empower women in the church, even leading Catholic communities, without resorting to ordination.