Filtration Monday a letter of conservative cardinals the pope Francisco, in expressing his displeasure at several issues, plunged the synod into chaos.
By Philip Pullella / Reuters
The letter was published by the same Italian journalist whom the Vatican removed his credentials in June after a filtered reported the Pope's encyclical on the environment copy.
The synod of more than 300 bishops, delegates and observers, including married couples, discusses how the Church of 1.200 million faithful can address the challenges facing the modern family.
The weekly L'Espresso, which published the letter in English, said the letter signed by 13 cardinals and one of them handed personally to the Pope last week.
In the letter, the religious say the synod's working document needed "reflection and revision" and was not suitable as a basis for the conclusion that the Pope could use to write their own document.
In the published letter, the cardinals also complain that a change in the small group discussions have more influence than the speeches at the Synod "seems designed to facilitate predetermined outcomes on major controversial issues".
A Vatican spokesman said the Pope were private letters.
Four of conservative cardinals quoted by the weekly is then disassociated themselves from the letter. Several said that private letters should remain so and one said it signed a similar but different version.
Filtration of the letter added a new layer of intrigue and confusion in the debate between conservatives and liberals about a lot of sensitive issues.
Conservatives seek to block changes to current Catholic teaching on divorce and oppose resolutions that could be interpreted as a weakening of Church teaching against homosexual acts.
Since his election in 2013, the Pope has given hope to liberals who want to go ahead with his vision of a more inclusive church that focuses on the mercy rather than strict adherence to rigid rules they consider outdated.