Copies of the post-synodal apostolic exhortation ' Amoris Laetitia ' (The Joy of Love) document are on display prior to the start of a press conference, at the Vatican, Friday, April 8, 2016. Pope Francis... (Associated Press) 
 
 Copies of the post-synodal apostolic exhortation ' Amoris Laetitia ' (The Joy of Love) document are on display prior to the start of a press conference, at the Vatican, Friday, April 8, 2016. Pope Francis has insisted that individual conscience be the guiding principle for Catholics negotiating the... (Associated Press) 
 
 VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis insisted that individual conscience be the guiding principle for Catholics negotiating the complexities of sex, marriage and family life in a major document released Friday that rejects the emphasis on black and white rules for the faithful. 
 
 In the 256-page document "The Joy of Love," Francis makes no change in church doctrine and strongly upholds that marriage is a lifelong commitment. 
 
 But in selectively citing his predecessors and emphasizing his own teachings, Francis makes clear that he wants nothing short of a revolution in the way priests accompany Catholics, saying the church must no longer sit in judgment and "throw stones" against those who fail to live up to the Gospel's ideals of marriage and family life. 
 
 "I understand those who prefer a more rigorous pastoral care which leaves no room for confusion," he wrote. "But I sincerely believe that Jesus wants a church attentive to the goodness which the Holy Spirit sows in the midst of human weakness." 
 
 On thorny issues such as contraception, Francis stressed that a couple's individual conscience — not dogmatic rules imposed across the board — must guide their decisions and the church's pastoral practice. 
 
 "We have been called to form consciences, not replace to them," he said. 
 
 He insisted the church's aim is to reintegrate and welcome all its members. He called for a new language to help Catholic families cope with today's problems. And he said pastors must take into account mitigating factors — fear, ignorance, habits and duress — in counseling Catholics who simply aren't perfect. 
 
 "It can no longer simply be said that all those in any irregular situations are living in a state of mortal sin and are deprived of sanctifying grace," he wrote. Even those in an "objective situation of sin" can be in a state of grace, and can even be more pleasing to God by trying to improve, he said. 
 
 The document's release marks the culmination of a divisive two-year consultation of ordinary Catholics and the church hierarchy that Francis initiated in hopes of understanding the problems facing Catholic families today and providing them with better pastoral care. 
 
 The most divisive issue that arose during two meetings of bishops, or synods, was whether Francis would loosen the Vatican's strict position on whether Catholics who divorce and remarry can receive Communion. Church teaching holds that unless these Catholics receive an annulment, or a church decree that their first marriage was invalid, they are committing adultery and cannot receive Communion. 
 
 Conservatives had insisted that the rules were fixed and that there was no way around Christ's teaching on the indissolubility of marriage. Progressives had sought wiggle room to balance doctrine with mercy and look at each couple on a case-by-case basis, accompanying them on a path of reconciliation that could lead to them eventually receiving the sacraments. 
 
 Francis took a unilateral step last year in changing church law to make it easier to get an annulment. On Friday, he said the rigorous response proposed by the conservatives was inconsistent with Jesus' message of mercy. 
 
 "By thinking that everything is black and white, we sometimes close off the way of grace and of growth and discourage paths of sanctification which give glory to God," he said. "Let us remember that a small step in the midst of great human limitations can be more pleasing to God than a life which appears outwardly in order but moves through the day without confronting great difficulties." 
 
 Francis didn't explicitly endorse the "penitential path" of bringing such civilly remarried Catholics to Communion that was advocated by leading progressives such as Cardinal Walter Kasper. But he repeated what the synod had endorsed of the need for pastors to help individual Catholics over the course of spiritual direction to ascertain what God is asking of them. 
 
 And he went further by explicitly linking such discussions of conscience with access to the sacraments. 
 
 In footnotes, Francis cited his previous document "The Joy of the Gospel" in saying that the Eucharist "is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak." 
 
 The Rev. James Bretzke, a Boston College theologian, said the document will give cover to and empower those priests and bishops who want to apply a broader understanding of the confidential discussions between a priest and divorced and civilly remarried Catholics — a concept known as the "internal forum solution." 
 
 "He does not outlaw that, whereas John Paul II specifically outlawed (it)," he said. 
 
 But Mark Brumley, president of Ignatius Press, a major English-language publisher of the writings of retired Pope Benedict XVI, said Francis' emphasis on conscience "doesn't mean this is a free pass to do whatever you want." 
 
 He said the document tries to navigate the difficult path of upholding church teaching while allowing the civilly remarried to participate in the life of the church. 
 
 "It's a very tricky thing," Brumley said. 
 
 In many ways the document is significant for what it doesn't say. 
 
 While Francis frequently cited John Paul, whose papacy was characterized by a hardline insistence on doctrine and sexual morals, he did so selectively. Francis referenced certain parts of John Paul's 1981 "Familius Consortio," the guiding Vatican document on family life until Friday, but he omitted any reference to its most divisive paragraph 83, which explicitly forbids the sacraments for the divorced and civilly remarried. 
 
 In fact, Francis went further than mere omission and effectively rejected John Paul's call in that document for people in civil second marriages to live as brother and sister, abstaining from sex so they can still receive the sacraments. In a footnote, Francis said that many people offered such a solution by the church "point out that if certain expressions of intimacy are lacking it often happens that faithfulness is endangered and the good of children suffer." 
 
 Similarly, in discussing the need for "responsible parenthood" and regulating the number of children, Francis made no mention of the church's opposition to artificial contraception. He squarely rejected abortion as "horrendous" and he cited the 1968 encyclical "Humanae Vitae," which deals with the issue. 
 
 But Francis made no mention of the "unlawful birth control methods" rejected in "Humanae Vitae." Instead he focused on the need for couples in their conscience to make decisions about their family size. 
 
 Citing the Vatican II document "Gaudium et Spes" Francis said: "Let them thoughtfully take into account both their own welfare and that of their children, those already born and those which the future may bring. ... The parents themselves and no one else should ultimately make this judgment in the sight of God." 
 
 Francis made a single reference to church-sanctioned family planning method of abstaining from sex during a woman's fertile time. He said only that such practices are to be "promoted" — not that other methods are forbidden — and he insisted on the need for children to receive sex education, albeit without focusing on "safe sex." 
 
 Gays will likely be disappointed by the documents' failure to offer anything significant beyond existing church teaching that gays are not to be discriminated against and are to be welcomed into the church with respect and dignity. It resoundingly rejects gay marriage and repeats the church's position that same-sex unions can in no way be equivalent to marriage between man and wife. 
 
 But women will find much to appreciate in the document. Francis condemns at length the "verbal, physical and sexual violence" many women endure in marriages, rejects "sexual submission" and the "reprehensible" practice of genital mutilation. And he says the belief that feminism is to blame for the crisis in families today is completely invalid. 
 
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 Zoll reported from New York. 
 
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 Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter/nwinfield and Rachel Zoll at www.twitter/rzollAP ||||| Archbishop Charles Chaput also stated that gay Catholics should also ‘live chastely’ in new rules issued after Pope Francis urged more acceptance of others 
 
 Catholics in Philadelphia who are divorced and civilly remarried will be welcome to accept Holy Communion – as long as they abstain from sex and live out their relationships like “brother and sister”. 
 
 New guidelines published by the conservative archbishop of Philadelphia this month also called on priests within the archdiocese to help Catholics who are attracted to people of the same sex and “find chastity very difficult”, saying such individuals should be advised to frequently seek penance. Because same-sex attraction takes “diverse forms”, the archdiocese also said that some people can still live out a vocation of heterosexual marriage with children, notwithstanding “some degree of same-sex attraction”. 
 
 Pope Francis urges compassion for all in landmark statement on family values Read more 
 
 The guidelines, which took effect on 1 July, come three months after Pope Francis urged bishops to be more accepting of Catholics who lived outside of the church’s social teaching and doctrine, including people who have divorced and remarried, and people in same-sex relationships. The pope’s views were published in April in a document titled Amoris Laetitia (Joy of Love), which was hailed as potentially groundbreaking. Because the document called on bishops to show greater mercy and flexibility to bring Catholics back to the church, while also calling on bishops not to veer from church doctrine, it was seen as giving both traditional and more progressively minded bishops the chance to interpret the document as they saw fit. 
 
 The Philadelphia archbishop, Charles Chaput, is known as one of the staunchest conservative leaders in the US Catholic church, a view that is reflected in the rules the archdiocese published. 
 
 John Allen, a veteran Vatican journalist, said he believed Philadelphia was among the first archdiocese to publish such rules based on its interpretation of Amoris Laetitia. 
 
 “My suspicion is that those who are inclined to a more progressive reading [of Amoris Laetitia] are not going to put out documents to say so. It will quietly be made clear to priests that it is OK under certain circumstances, for example, to allow some people to quietly come back to communion,” Allen said. “My suspicion is that the more traditional line [adopted by some bishops] will be more public.” 
 
 Allen said that he did not think Pope Francis would be surprised by Chaput’s reading of the papal document, since he is likely aware of traditional interpretations of his document. 
 
 In its examination of homosexuality, the Philadelphia guidelines state that two people in an “active, public same-sex relationship, no matter how sincere, offer a serious counter-witness to Catholic belief, which can only produce moral confusion in the community. 
 
 “Those with predominant same-sex attractions are therefore called to struggle to live chastely for the kingdom of God. In this endeavor they have need of support, friendship and understanding if they fail,” the rules state. 
 
 But the greatest attention in the guidelines is focused on couples who are divorced and civilly remarried who have not obtained an annulment of their first marriage. 
 
 While divorced and remarried couples should be welcomed by the Catholic community, and not be seen as outside the church, the archdiocese said they are required by church teaching to refrain from all sexual intimacy. 
 
 “This applies even if they must (for the care of their children) continue to live under one roof. Undertaking to live as brother and sister is necessary for the divorced and civilly remarried to receive reconciliation in the Sacrament of Penance, which could then open the way to the Eucharist,” the archdiocese said. 
 
 Priests are also directed to consider Catholic couples who are living together but are not married, including whether the couple have had children born in these “irregular unions”. If a priest senses that one person in the couple is reluctant to take the plunge, the archdiocese recommended trying to break up the pair. 
 
 “Often cohabiting couples refrain from making final commitments because one or both persons is seriously lacking in maturity or has other significant obstacles to entering a valid union. Here, prudence plays a vital role. Where one or another person is not capable of, or is not willing to commit to, a marriage, the pastor should urge them to separate,” the guidelines state. 
 
 If the cohabitating couple seems ready to tie the knot but is just a bit slow, the priest should encourage them to practice chastity. 
 
 “They will find this challenging, but again, with the help of grace, mastering the self is possible – and this fasting from physical intimacy is a strong element of spiritual preparation for an enduring life together,” it said. ||||| Image caption Pope Francis has called for an extraordinary synod to discuss the family 
 
 The Vatican has launched a worldwide survey to find out what Catholics really think about its teaching on marriage and family life. 
 
 Pope Francis is calling bishops to Rome next October to discuss possible reform that considers modern social realities. 
 
 The questionnaire asks for local views on premarital cohabitation, birth control and gay marriage. 
 
 Correspondents say it shows a greater interest in issues previously considered taboo. 
 
 "The social and spiritual crisis, so evident in today's world, is becoming a pastoral challenge in the Church's evangelising mission concerning the family," the Vatican survey says. 
 
 Analysis The questionnaire contains 39 questions couched in non-judgmental terms. It aims at finding out, for example, what percentage of the Catholic flock is cohabiting with a member of the opposite sex without any intention of seeking the marriage bond. It asks whether local laws on same-sex civil unions equate this with marriage between a man and a woman. And it tries to find out what knowledge 21st century Catholics have about the controversial Vatican ban on artificial contraception issued back in 1968. Since his election, Pope Francis has displayed a much more open attitude than his predecessors towards Church teaching - a position not shared by some of his top advisers. While he is unlikely to change any basic Church doctrine, the Pope clearly wants to sound out the opinions of grassroots Catholics about new family situations. And this is something of a revolution. 
 
 Among the "many new situations requiring the Church's attention and pastoral care", it lists single-parent families, inter-religious unions and divorce. 
 
 Under pressure 
 
 The BBC's David Willey in Rome says Pope Francis is under pressure from Catholics in many countries to take a fresh look at the Church's ban on contraception and its refusal to allow divorced and remarried Catholics to take Communion. 
 
 There appears to be a division of opinion on this between the Pope, who has more progressive ideas, and some of his top advisers, our correspondent adds. 
 
 The consultation is part of the preparation for the extraordinary meeting of the Synod of Bishops next year, which will focus on the subject of family. 
 
 "Concerns which were unheard of until a few years ago have arisen today as a result of different situations, from the widespread practice of cohabitation... to same-sex unions," the questionnaire says. 
 
 Pope Francis has signalled greater openness, and has said the Catholic Church is too tied up in "small-minded rules". 
 
 In an interview in September, he said the Church was too focused on preaching about abortion, gay people and contraception and needed to become more merciful. 
 
 Francis earlier created headlines by saying it was not up to him to judge about the sexual orientation of clergy as long as they were searching for God and had goodwill.
– There's been plenty of talk of "revolution" on the campaign trail this year, and now Pope Francis wants to start his own regarding marriage, divorce, sex, and family life, issuing a major document Friday that addresses these issues while calling for one's conscience, rather than hard-and-fast rules, to serve as Catholics' guiding force, the AP reports. In his 256-page "Amoris Laetitia," or "Joy of Love," the pontiff doesn't make any major overhauls to church doctrine, but instead calls for less judgment and exhorts priests to embrace those who may appear to fall short of what the Gospel preaches, welcoming everyone from single parents and gay couples to unmarried couples living together into the fold, the New York Times reports. "A pastor cannot feel that it is enough to simply apply moral laws to those living in 'irregular' situations, as if they were stones to throw at people's lives," he writes. In the document that has the pope sounding "less like a pontiff than a marriage counselor," per the Washington Post, Francis calls for more empathy, a more "attentive" church, and a "new route back for divorced Catholics," the New York Times explains in excerpts from his appeal. He advocates for rejuvenating broken marriages and continued sex education, though he denounces the "narcissism" of terms like "protection" and "safe sex," which he says epitomize a "negative attitude towards the natural procreative finality of sexuality, as if an eventual child were an enemy to be protected against." He even talks about nurturing romance within marriage, including sharing a "morning kiss" and "household chores" together—even throwing parties to "break the routine." Yet although he warns against anti-gay violence, one issue he doesn't sway on is gay marriage. "There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God's plan for marriage and family," he writes. (How this new proclamation could affect families, per the New York Times.)