The Pope’s genuine compassion and love for humanity shines through bright and clear in his Apostolic exhortation ‘Joy of Love’, Amoris Laetitia, which is the fruit of the last Synod of Bishops.

Pope Francis sets the tone early on in the document, when he says that one reason he prepared it was “as a help and encouragement to families in their daily commitment and challenges”. In the next paragraph he tells his bishops and priests that the exhortation seeks to encourage them “to be a sign of mercy and closeness wherever family life remains imperfect or lacks peace and joy”.

This is a Pope laying emphasis on the need to understand the diverse and complex situations of families on the ground. He is telling his pastors out in the field that rather than rush to judge or pigeonhole the people they work with, they must reach out to them with a warm embrace and a desire to know them better.

In this approach, rules come second. Priests must shed the mentality that “everything is black and white” and, in a particularly memorable line, they are urged by the Pope to avoid applying moral laws as if these were “stones to throw at people’s lives”.

This biting metaphor is in keeping with a pontiff who has not shied away from being blunt when necessary. There are some marvellous pastors out in the community who already make understanding and mercy their watchwords, and who will see the Pope’s exhortation as an encouraging affirmation of the way they already do their work.

Others, though, may be confused between sticking to the “theological ideal of marriage”, as the Pope puts it, and opening their minds and arms to families of all sorts and people in life situations that are far from the taught ideal. Other priests, by their words from the pulpit and their demeanour in person, are the antithesis of the mercy-filled and compassionate companion; they shun the “imperfect” and shunt those “living in sin” away from the Church. The Pope is asking them to reflect on his words and change.

Make no mistake, this is not a departure from the Church’s traditional teachings, about the indissolubility of marriage or the rejection of same-sex marriage. His is a call to live a good Christian life according to the Gospels. But he does not impose, rather he invites and suggests. The document is in part a guide, highlighting in practical ways how families can imbue their relationship and their parenting with the “joy of love” in the realisation they are not excluded from God’s love.

The document continues to cement the impression that Bergoglio truly is a people’s pope. Increasingly, it is clear that his highest priority is the well-being of individuals. His primary concern is to alleviate people’s suffering and help them find happiness and meaning in drawing closer to God. This Pope wants to heal their hearts as well as save their souls.

If, in the Pope’s figure, his followers believe they can discover something of Christ, then they will see in him the Jesus of humility and service, the Jesus who lived to give, the loving servant-leader of mankind. It is no wonder that Francis has drawn such huge affection and admiration.

The document’s approach, which unmistakably represents a crucial shift, will take time to work itself through to the grass roots of pastoral care. It is vital that practitioners recognise there is a thirst for it and strive to put it into action.