Pope will open a big Vatican meeting as battle lines are drawn on his reform project

By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is opening a big meeting on the future of the Catholic Church. Progressives are hoping it will lead to more women in leadership roles. Conservatives are warning that church doctrine on everything from homosexuality to the hierarchy’s authority is at risk.Rarely in recent times has a Vatican gathering generated as much hope, hype and fear as this three-week, closed-door meeting that opens Wednesday. It won’t take any binding decisions and is only the first session of a two-year process. But it nevertheless has drawn an acute battle line in the church’s perennial left-right divide.