Vatican. Pope Francis has said the Catholic church must shake off an obsession with teachings on abortion, contraception and homosexuality and become more merciful or risk the collapse of its entire moral edifice "like a house of cards”.Signalling a dramatic shift in Vatican tone, Francis said in an interview with an Italian Jesuit journal, published on Thursday, that the church had "locked itself up in small things, in small-minded rules” and should not be so prone to condemn.Its priests should be more welcoming and not cold, dogmatic bureaucrats. The confessional, he said, "is not a torture chamber but the place in which the Lord’s mercy motivates us to do better”.His comments were welcomed by liberal Catholics; but theology commentators said they were likely to be viewed with concern by conservatives who have already expressed concern over Francis’ failure to address publicly the issues stressed by his predecessor, Benedict.Francis, the first non-European pope in 1,300 years, the first from Latin America and the first Jesuit pope, did not hold out the prospect of any changes soon to such moral teachings. But, in the 12,000-word interview with Civilta Cattolica, he said the church must find a new balance between upholding rules and demonstrating mercy.The pope told the magazine he envisioned a greater role for women in the 1.2 bn-member church but suggested it would not include a change in the current  ban on a female priesthood.In a remarkable change from his predecessor Benedict, who said homosexuality was an intrinsic disorder, Francis said that when homosexuals told him they were  always condemned by the church and felt "socially wounded”, he told them "the church does not want to do this”.