Christian faith 'not a museum to look at and save'

Pope Francis told a key Roman Catholic meeting on family issues the Church should not be a hidebound “museum of memories” but have the courage to change if that was what God wanted.

The three-week meeting of bishops from the around the world, known as a synod, will discuss ways to defend the traditional family and making life-long marriage more appealing to young people while seeking common ground with disaffected Catholics such as homosexual people and the divorced.

The gathering, attended by some 300 bishops, delegates, observers, and 18 married couples, has been preceded by intense jockeying between conservatives and liberals on a number of issues.