Pope Francis opened a rare Catholic Church conference of nearly 200 bishops and cardinals to talk about the social issues that have pit the conservative and progressive sides of the church against each other, as it tries to recover from the credibility hit it took from the Vatican bank and child abuse scandals.

This Synod in Rome is the first called by Francis since he became Pope in March of last year.  The church has seen declining membership, especially in countries where the clergy sex abuse scandal, and its Francis’ job to turn that around.  He’s attempting that by trying to move the church closer to the poor and suffering, and ordering hard-liners not to be “obsessed” with issues such as homosexuality, abortion and contraception.

Conservatives don’t want the church to drop the bans on civil divorces and on giving communion to Catholics who divorce and remarry.  Progressive allies of the Pope note that the Church forgives murderers, and should be able to forgive people with bad marriages.  The policy might be about to change anyway.

Last year, Francis hinted at change when he said, “I believe that this is the season of mercy.”  On Sunday, his sermon warned of “evil pastors lay intolerable burdens on the shoulders of others, which they do not lift a finger to move.”

Also last year, the Vatican commissioned a survey that found that many churchgoers are simple ignoring the church’s ban on birth control, and want it to minister to gay couples – revelations that very well could inform the outcome of this Synod.