Catholic bishops issued documents on key church teachings this week that may hit a nerve with the laity - but will likely not change their practices.

In votes taken at their annual conference held this week in Baltimore, the bishops reiterated traditional church positions that ban artificial contraception, support ministry to gays while condemning homosexual acts and uphold Communion as a sacrament for those who follow church teachings.

While the statements broke no new ground and changed none of the rules, they involved controversial issues that some experts say many lay Catholics decided for themselves long ago.

Michele Dillon, a sociology professor at the University of New Hampshire and author of "Catholic Identity: Balancing Reason, Faith, and Power," said she doubts if the documents will disenfranchise more Catholics.

For those who had issues with the church, the final straw was the clergy sexual abuse crisis, she said, and those who remained have already made up their minds on these issues. "I do not see this as a trigger for any major exodus from the church," Dillon said.

Several local priests who were contacted for this story said they did not want to comment until they had time to thoroughly study the documents.

The bishops' statements were prompted by public debates over same-sex marriage and by debates within the church on whether Catholic politicians should receive Communion, even though they publicly take stands in opposition to church teaching, an issue that erupted during the last presidential campaign because of the pro-choice stance of U.S. Sen. John Kerry, who is Catholic.

While the birth control issue may seem unrelated to that debate, Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston was quoted this week as saying that all these teachings are linked because they relate to the church's position on marriage, sexuality and procreation, and help explain the church's opposition to redefining marriage to include same-sex couples.

The document on marriage restates the teaching that only natural family planning is permissible, but also acknowledges that only 4 percent of Catholics of child-bearing age use natural methods.

The document called "Ministering to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination" encourages outreach to gay Catholics and acknowledges that a homosexual inclination may not be chosen. But it also says homosexual acts are sinful, immoral, and "disordered" because they are not open to the natural order of human sexuality in creating new life. The bishops also restated their opposition to same-sex marriages and adoptions.

On Communion, the bishops said Catholics who do not adhere to church teaching should not receive without first going to confession, but they did not push priests to deny Communion to politicians, as some bishops wanted to do during the Kerry controversy. Instead, the decision to receive Communion is left to individuals and their conscience.

Following their conscience has been the approach for many married Catholics who have been disagreeing with the birth control edict since the late 1960s, when a papal encyclical on the ban was issued.

These Catholics, Dillon said, use contraception and still consider themselves to be full participating members of the Church.

Peter Beisheim, professor of religious studies at Stonehill College in Easton, agreed that the documents will likely not change many Catholic minds. "Those who choose to go to Communion will examine their conscience, and then go to Communion," Beisheim said.

But for some Catholics who disagree on these issues, the documents may raise two possibilities, he said - to either stay and continue to be labeled "cafeteria Catholics," or to decide they have to leave.

James Keating, professor of theology at Providence College, said the document on homosexuality was the most significant one. He sees it as more positive than negative because it encourages outreach and a welcoming approach to gays in the church, and urges those in ministry to be sure they are not contributing to anti-gay ideas or attitudes.

"That's pretty big," Keating said.

Yet he also found the document lacking because it failed to come to grips with why there has been such a major change in American attitudes toward homosexuality.

The church has many gays within its ranks, he said, including priests, bishops and lay Catholics who are involved in music ministry and other types of parish work. Yet he said the document ignored that fact, even though it is widely known.

"I did not find the document on homosexuality nearly good enough," he said.