True to its name, the synod of bishops in Rome has been extraordinary. By this weekend, the meeting of senior church leaders in Rome will be reaching its end, but whatever happens, things can never be the same. What has been said cannot be unsaid. There are broadly two possible outcomes. The first is that the remarkable openness of the discussion summarised in the half-time document, the draft relatio, will be preserved or even developed further in the final report. The second is that the conservative backlash that the document has clearly triggered will prevail. What is much less likely, though it may be the result Pope Francis would prefer, is some sort of synthesis that would make everybody happy. The gap between the two sides does seem unbridgeable. Metaphorically at least, there will