The three-week synod which came to an end yesterday offered hope to families with problems, Gozo Bishop Mario Grech said upon his return to Malta this morning.

“I feel as though I am returning from Cana and not from Rome. I’m very happy because it seems we are moving forward,” Mgr Grech told journalists.

Mgr Grech said one of the main topics discussed at length was how the church could be closer to the people.

“If we do not evaluate whether the church is close to the people or not, we are risking dialogue with a world which does not exist.”

On same-sex couples and their families, Mgr Grech said that while the synod strongly defended the family described in the Bible, and marriage between a man and a woman, other forms of the family should not be ignored. 

 “The synod did not give us definite solutions but it did give us the tools and visions on how to deal with different people.”

267 Catholic bishops from around the world attended the synod, which came to a close on Saturday, with a voting session on the 94 paragraphs of the final document.