Bishops want the Pope to accept married priests

Married men who are considered particularly morally decent should be able to become priests in hard-to-reach parts of the rainforest area where parishes find it difficult to reach priests, say the bishops gathered at the Vatican.

The controversial reform represents a small opening in the strict celibacy of the Church, which has been dominant for several centuries.

A conservative phalanx expressed some concern that such a development would quickly spread, but it was ultimately voted down. 128 votes were in favor and 41 against.

The Synod also decided that women should be able to assume more types of leadership roles in the church's emergence among the Amazon's indigenous people, but a limit was drawn that they could become deacons.

The three-week synod that ends this weekend has been about the role of the Amazon and the Catholic Church in the region. On site are 184 bishops, most of whom are active in South American countries through which the rainforest region extends.

They have agreed on a 120-point document that will be handed over to Pope Francis, who will weigh in on his views when he devises his own action plan.

Otherwise, the bishops have discussed deforestation and the situation of the indigenous population of the rainforest. The Pope is asked to declare that it is an "ecological sin" to cause pollution and destroy the environment.

Also at the synod were observers, listeners and experts. Among them were 35 nuns who wrote a letter to the Pope, demanding that they also be allowed to vote if the congregation arrives.

It had been the first time in Vatican history that women participated in voting at a synod, but that was not the case this time.

The Pope, on the other hand, announced that he would take the initiative for a commission to study historical examples of female deacons in the early history of the Catholic Church. In the Amazon, two-thirds of the indigenous community is led by women.

-We have not yet grasped the importance of women in the church. Their role must extend beyond functional issues, says the Pope.