Bishops Revise Document On Gays, Expect Approval

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Catholic bishops are predicting widespread approval of a revised, "balanced" document laying out the church's position on gays, sex, marriage and divorce.

The final report will be voted on Saturday afternoon. It was rewritten to incorporate amendments to a draft released earlier in the week which showed an unprecedented openness toward gays and Catholics who live together without being married. Conservatives harshly criticized the draft and made extensive revisions to restate church doctrine on family and marriage.

Cardinal Raymundo Damasceno Assis of Brazil, Cardinal Oswald Gracis of India and Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi of Italy, the Vatican's culture minister, said they all would approve the revised text and that they expected the majority of their fellow bishops would do the same.

They said the document was "balanced," ''positive" and "open."

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