He [Pope Fransis] insists very clearly that only a union between man and woman, open to new life, by principle, can be called a marriage.

I am convinced Pope Francis' Exhortation can help. The effort must be made to read it because an exhortation can only help if you know it. It is valuable to know the work. It is so rich and I can only encourage our pastors and our communities to work on it, study it, read it, and taste the joy of this beautiful document.

It is fascinating to see how much Pope Francis relies on the work of the bishops in the Synods.

He [Pope Fransis] insists very clearly that only a union between man and woman, open to new life, by principle, can be called a marriage.

In the Apostolic Exhortation 'Amoris Laetitia,' Pope Francis speaks only in one point about homosexual tendencies. As did the last synod, the Holy Father speaks about the question of how to handle the situation when, in the family, a member of the family discovers him or herself having a homosexual tendency.

I think our shepherds, our pastors, can take for instance, Chapter Four [of Amoris Laetitia], 'Vive l'amore' ('How to live love'). It's a great catechesis. You can take it chapter by chapter, passage by passage, and work through it in the parish, in the communities. It's a great catechesis on marital and familial love. And I think as pastors, we can use this for our pastoral work.

I think Pope Francis is a good shepherd and has great experience in following people in joyful, but also distressing situations and he knows what he is speaking about when he discusses how to accompany families in their lives toward joy and love.