It only takes one person to do what was previously unthinkable. Pope Francis has distributed a questionnaire to all Catholic Bishops, telling then that he wants as wide a consultation as possible, adding that he wants to hear from “ordinary Catholics”.

This change is groundbreaking, Catholics around the world, including Malta, have always been used to being given directions by the Church and not supplying them. The questionnaire features 39 questions, and they all deal with sensitive subjects – contraception, gay marriage, sex outside marriage and whether people who are divorced and remarry should be allowed Holy Communion.

These questions were never even asked, prior to Pope Francis’ arrival on the scene. Even when the subjects were mentioned by the Vatican, the words were always prohibition, abstinence and sin.

But Pope Francis has taken a different tack, rather than criticise, he is convinced that the Church needs to understand - and his survey is part of that effort.

The Vatican already knows that the respondents will probably confirm what bishops already know - that the behaviour of Catholics, including the roughly one third who go regularly to church, is diverging dramatically from the model of Catholic practice set out by the Church.

In fact, only weeks ago, the Pope ticised the Roman Catholic Church for being too focused on enforcing the rules for human behaviour based on its traditional beliefs.

He called it being locked up in "small things and small-minded rules", and an obsession with "the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines".

But while the Pope’s intentions are clear – he wants to learn more about his flock – he has not been able to take things as far as he wanted. The questionnaire itself is obscure and the questions do not go to the heart of the matter. For example, in the area of "On Unions of Persons of the Same Sex", one question asks: "What pastoral attention can be given to people who have chosen to live in other types of union?"

Another addresses the issue of contraception - but instead of using that word it refers to "The openness of the married couple to life".

This questionnaire will not bring about a change in doctrine, or the earthquake that some people expect, but it definitely signifies Pope Francis’ attempts to educate and help the elderly hierarchy of the church in tending to its flock.

Pope Francis has a two-pronged approach, the first being an emphasis on understanding and forgiveness. The second is a wholehearted attempt to reach out and make Catholics around the world feel relevant, accepted and understood.

Pope after Pope, the Catholic Church has failed to acknowledge a changing world around it. In doing so, it has alienated people as they no longer felt that the church itself had a place for them. But this is a start. This effort though, will not just be the work of Pope Francis, he needs to rebuild the church and the church is not made of marble and stone, it is made up of people and it will take people to help him do it.