Pope Francis has spoken out against pastors who self-indulge and distance themselves from the sufferings of the poor, in his traditional midweek address in St Peter's square.

"Jesus was not a prince," said the Pontiff on September 14, the Catholic Herald reports. "It is awful for the Church when pastors become princes, far from the people, far from the poorest people. That is not the spirit of Jesus."

The Pope was giving his weekly address in the Vatican City, Rome.

In his address he quoted Matthew 11, where Jesus promises rest for those who labour and are burdened. In Christ, the Pope said, "they finally find the answer they have been waiting for."

The Pope further emphasised a call for Christians to be with those who are poor. Jesus was "a pastor who was among the people, among the poor," he said. "He worked every day with them." Pastors should thus imitate Jesus and not distance themselves from the needy. Neither should they burden their congregations with rules and regulations, instead encouraging people to find the will of God in Jesus.

The Pope said that Jesus called people to a path of "knowledge and imitation", as seen when Jesus called his followers to "learn from me."

The Pope went on: "The Lord teaches us to not be afraid to follow him, because we will not be disillusioned by placing hope in him. We are therefore called to learn from him what it means to live in mercy in order to be instruments of mercy."

This year is the Catholic Year of Mercy, a holy year in which many Catholic churches have been adorned with a Holy Door of Mercy. Through this door, pilgrims can pass as a symbol of their coming to the mercy of Christ.

The Pope said: "By passing through the Holy Door, we profess that love is present in the world and that this love is more powerful than any form of evil in which man and woman, humanity and the world are involved,"