Father Rosica, the briefer for English-speaking journalists, said "the medicine of mercy" was referred to several times in the synod, with members quoting St. John XXIII who told bishops at the Second Vatican Council that their task was not to place more burdens upon the people of God, but to administer the "medicine of mercy."

The term "medicine," Father Rosica said, indicates the church recognizes there are problems and failures, but it also sees its task as bringing healing.

Pope Francis' description of the church as a "field hospital" adopting emergency life-saving measures -- not simply offering tests to determine the faithful's cholesterol levels -- has been echoed numerous times in the synod hall, the briefers said.

According to a synod briefing paper released by the Vatican press office, one synod member warned that if the church does not dedicate its energy to being a "field hospital," it easily could become a "mortuary performing autopsies" on failed marriages.

Responding to reporters' questions Oct. 8, Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez, rector of the Catholic University of Argentina, said synod members who support pastoral flexibility in dealing with people in irregular situations are not promoting "marriage-lite" or a weakening of the lifelong bond of marriage, they want to meet those people, support them and, hopefully, lead them closer to holiness.

Pope Francis urged pastors to do so in his apostolic exhortation, "The Joy of the Gospel," the archbishop said, "even if we run the risk of getting dirty from the mud along the path."

The Gospel, Archbishop Fernandez said, also should arrive at the places where the prostitutes and tax collectors live, "where the biggest sinners are" -- that's the example Jesus gave his followers.

He said too often people depict Jesus' Sacred Heart as so "beautiful that it's as if it's a woman, right? But a shepherd in the Old Testament, in the Bible, is a man who is really dirty. He never combs his hair, he's covered with dirt because he is with his sheep day and night. He smells. It is not pleasing to look at him and stand next to him -- that's the good shepherd Jesus spoke about."

"The pope himself told us: Speak clearly, you don't need to hide anything, don't be afraid that Cardinal (Gerhard L.) Muller (prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) will get on your back. Speak clearly because otherwise we will never come to a synthesis of what the Lord is asking of us. But also listen to each other with great humility because everyone has something to teach you," the archbishop said.

The idea, he said, is that if the Lord has taught a priest or bishop something through his ministry, "I should not hide this from my brothers."