known as Sermons that call for mutual respect between family membersThe Pope Francis Presented on Wednesday (27) a personal defense of her mother-in-law during a weekly hearing in São Pedro Square, in Vatican.
The Pope asked the faithful to put aside the scars around them, but he sent a message: “To you, mother-in-law, I say to you: Beware of your tongue, for the tongue is one of their most terrible sins. Mother-in-law.”
Francis spoke of prejudices about aging when he addressed the family ties between sons-in-law or mother-in-law. “We always think of her mother-in-law as an evil character, but her mother-in-law is the mother of her husband and her wife,” the Pope continued.
He urged people to abandon the idea that the farther away a mother-in-law, the better, and said that one of the most beautiful things in grandmothers’ lives is watching their grandchildren grow up close. “It is at least necessary to make them happy, so that they can proceed with old age happily,” he added.
“May the Lord, in doing so, help us to grow up in harmony in families, that constructive harmony which passes from the old to the young, that positive bridge which we must maintain and keep.”
This isn’t the first time the Pope has spoken about his mother-in-law, and his comments – sometimes sarcastic – about the stigmas surrounding the topic are almost unheard of. Speaking on a tour of the United States two years after becoming papacy, he said, “Families fight and sometimes dishes can fly. Children get headaches. I won’t talk about mother-in-law.”
A year ago, The Times of Israel recalled, Francis made a similar comment in Rome: “We all know that the perfect family does not exist. The perfect husband does not exist, and neither does the ideal wife. Let us not talk about ideal mother-in-laws.”
The pope remained seated throughout Wednesday’s audience, and apologized for it, explaining that he had knee pain that forced him to cancel appointments in recent days. “This knee takes a while to get better and I can’t stand for long.”
The Pope canceled appointments this Tuesday (26) due to the pain, and last Friday (22), he underwent exams. He also canceled events in February and March, but it came Two days travel to Malta.
He told the Argentine newspaper “La Nacion Francisco” that he had torn a ligament and that he was treating the pain with ice and painkillers. He said he’s been told the problem is getting better with time, but that the process will be slow at his age – the pope is 85 years old.
More Stories
A South African YouTuber is bitten by a green mamba and dies after spending a month in a coma
A reptile expert dies after a snake bite
Maduro recalls his ambassador to Brazil in a move to disavow him and expand the crisis