Pope Francis warned bishops and cardinals yesterday at the global synod attended by 200 global religious leaders in St. Peter's Basilica telling them to come down from their "ivory towers" and deal with issues modern families face.

The Pope urged church leaders worldwide to avoid "intellectualizing" and instead, focus on finding out why many Catholics disobey Catholic teachings on various family issues. The issues include premarital sex, birth control, divorce and same-sex relationships, the Irish Independent detailed.

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Rebuking bishops, archbishops and cardinals who are against his reformist path, Pope Francis, 77, said synod gatherings are not held to allow them to discuss "clever ideas." He said the Catholic Church should work hard to take care of the Catholic family.

The synod, which will be held over the next two weeks, will see bishops holding closed-door discussions about the most controversial issues the church is facing. They will also decide if they should allow remarried divorcees to take Communion.

The Pope has, several times, demonstrated a "merciful" approach in dealing with the issue. He has also shown support for German Cardinal Walter Kasper, one of the prominent church leaders urging the Church to reform its rules.

Under the current rules, Catholics who get divorced and later on remarry are not allowed to take Communion because the Church honors the first marriage. The Church, thus, classifies the second marriage adulterous.

However, many Catholics think this rule excludes many people from the Church.

Several cardinals, including bishop synod head Lorenzo Baldisseri, Milan's emeritus archbishop Dionigi Tettamanzi, and Philippine cardinal Luis Tagle, are pushing for the reform of church laws.

The group of reform-minded bishops face opposition from conservative cardinals including Gerhard Mueller, George Pell and Raymond Leo Burke.

Based on a questionnaire that the Pope ordered to be sent to dioceses, there are millions of Catholics who defy church teachings on premarital sex and birth control. The church leaders are also set to discuss the results of the survey during the assembly.

No reform is expected to be revealed at the global synod. In addition, reforms will most likely not occur until after 2016, the report stated.

TagsPope Francis, premarital sex, birth control, same-sex union, global synod, Catholic Church, controversial issues, Roman Curia