Exit polls showed that Catholic voters "split right down the middle." Reflecting the growing number of Hispanic voters, 50 percent of Catholics overall said they voted for Democrats, while 49 percent voted for Republicans.

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston said in remarks closing the assembly that his hope was primarily grounded in Christ as well as realizing that the body of bishops was on the road to implementing protocols to boost the accountability of bishops to laypeople and survivors of clergy sex abuse.

America’s Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell has some ideas about the reasons behind the controversial, 11th-hour intervention from Rome at the U.S. bishops’ November meeting.

At the request of the Vatican, the U.S. bishops postponed a vote on a set of proposals aimed at holding themselves accountable over sexual abuse.

It begins with listening, understanding, offering responses showing that they, the victim-survivors, are believed, she said.

The U.S. Catholic bishops voted to accept the first pastoral letter against racism in almost 40 years.