The eight orthodox bishops who voted against the document were Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki and Bishops Gregor Maria Hanke, Matthias Heinrich, Stefan Oster, Dominikus Schwaderlapp, Rolf Steinhäuser, Rudolf Vorderholzer, and Florian Wörner.
The decision was approved under the German Catholic Church's new Labor Law, which drastically liberalized the Church's disciplinary laws in the country.
According to the Bishop of Passau, the fourth synodal assembly was 'much more about political processes, tactics, the search for alliances than about listening to each other.'
The German Catholic journalist and pro-life activist explains the significance of the recent stir caused by prominent Catholics in Germany calling for change on Church moral teaching.