Pope Francis tells group of nuns not to ‘gossip’ and to be more ‘friendly and loving’ during rant
Less gossip, more gospel.
Pope Francis urged a group of nuns with “vinegar faces” to steer clear of gossiping and not to speak with “the Devil” in an off-the-cuff rant.
His Holiness, 88, spoke with sisters from the Union of St. Catherine of Siena of the Missionaries of the School on Saturday, when he warned them that their sour faces weren’t helping bring people to the church and to adopt “a lifestyle that is friendly and loving towards everyone.”
“Many times in my life, I have encountered nuns with a vinegar face, and this is not friendly,” the pope said, per local media. “This is not something that helps to attract people.”
He then advised them to avoid the rumor mill.
“Please, distance yourself from gossip,” he asked.
“Gossip kills, gossip poisons. Please, no gossiping among you, none. And to ask this of a woman is heroic but, come on, let’s move forward and no gossip.”
Pope Francis then urged the nuns to spread the lord’s word and speak with everyone but to have “no dialogue with the Devil.”
“Please, speak with everyone except the Devil,” he added.
“The Devil enters the community, he sees the jealousies, all those things that belong to all humans, not just women, everyone, that’s where the Devil goes. No dialogue with the Devil, understood? We don’t speak with the Devil,” His Holiness went on.
He thanked the nuns for their work at the school and urged them to be “heralds of affability, a gift of the Spirit, and joy, living every encounter with radiant gratitude for the other in their sacred uniqueness.”
Pope Francis, who has led the Catholic church since 2013, found himself in hot water in the past for using derogatory language.
In June, he was forced to apologize for using it while suggesting gay men shouldn’t be ordained priests.
The pope is accused of saying, “There is an air of frociaggine in the Vatican” — a disparaging Italian term roughly translating as “f—–ness” — during a closed-door meeting with approximately 200 priests at Rome’s Salesian Pontifical University.
The 88-year-old Argentine also allegedly suggested that it was better that young men with homosexual tendencies not be allowed to enter the seminary.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni issued a statement saying Francis — who has made outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics a hallmark of his papacy — has long insisted there is “room for everyone” in the Catholic Church.
“The pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he extends his apologies to those who were offended by the use of a term that was reported by others,” the spokesperson said.
A priest, who declined to be named, told the Times that “Pope Francis speaks like this” and “he is rough-spoken.”
“It can be embarrassing and it could be getting more pronounced with age,” the priest reportedly said.
“First time ’round I think it was the Vatican press office issuing the apology rather than him.”
