Much more controversial has been the use that some theologians have made of the concept as grounds for a permissive attitude to moral norms, treating them merely as ideals. Some have invoked this understanding on matters such as the Catholic Church's ban on artificial contraception, or cohabitating couples. This "lower[ing] the bar" of Church teachings that are deemed to be too difficult has been denigrated as moral relativism. Some believed this interpretation seemed to be mentioned in an interim discussion document presented at the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October 2014, but it was excluded from the Synod's final report.
