Pope Francis rebukes narrow-minded Catholics

In the 100-page booklet titled "Rejoice and Be Glad; On the Call to Holiness in Today's World" issued on Monday, Francis also encourages Catholics to reach for holiness in daily life, urging the faithful to become "the saint next door", reports CNN. 

In a pointed rebuke to Catholic anti-abortion activists who focus on the issue to the exclusion of all others, Francis says that helping the poor and immigrants is as important as taking a stance against abortion.

"Some Catholics consider it (the situation of migrants) a secondary issue compared to the 'grave' bioethical questions," he writes.

To do so, the Pope says, is like "a politician looking for votes".

Our defence of the innocent unborn, for example, needs to be clear, firm and passionate," the Pope writes.

"Equally sacred, however, are the lives of the poor, those already born, the destitute, the abandoned and the underprivileged..."

Pope Francis has previously criticised those who he claimed are "obsessed" with the issues of abortion and homosexuality, reports CNN.

Last week, he made waves in an interview with Italian journalist and founder of the left-wing daily La Repubblica, Eugenio Scalfari, in which he allegedly claimed that hell did not exist.

While Francis does not address the question of hell in his new document, he makes clear that he believes the devil exists and is at work in our world.

"We should not think of the devil as a myth," Francis writes, claiming that the devil is "a personal being who assails us".