Pope Francis calls out nuns with ‘vinegar faces’: Pontiff tells sisters to be more friendly and avoid gossip
Pope Francis has called out nuns with ‘vinegar faces’ in a bizarre tirade and told them to avoid gossip.
The pope, 88, urged a group of Dominican nuns from the Missionaries’ Union of St. Catherine of Siena to “distance themselves” from the stories.
‘Gossip kills, gossip poisons. Please, no gossip among you, none. And to ask this of a woman is heroic, but come on, let’s move on and not gossip,” he said in one of his ready-made speeches that are quickly becoming an essential part of his papacy.
‘That doesn’t help attract people. Vinegar is nasty and vinegar-faced nuns, let’s not even talk about it,” he added.
Pope Francis, who became the leader of the Catholic Church in 2013, also urged nuns not to speak to the Devil.
“The Lord showed us that he spoke to everyone except… there was one person the Lord never spoke to: the Devil.
“Please speak to everyone except the Devil. The Devil comes into the community, he sees the jealousy, all those things that belong to all people, not just women, everyone, that’s where the Devil goes. No dialogue with the Devil, understand? We do not speak to the Devil.’
He has long caused controversy; Earlier this year he allegedly used derogatory language against gays when speaking about men training to become priests in seminaries.
Pope Francis speaks to nuns during the weekly general audience on June 22, 2022 in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican
The Pope, pictured in January 2023, has told nuns to ‘avoid gossip’
The Vatican was forced to apologize for its use of the Italian term “frociaggine,” which translates to an offensive slur against gays, during a closed-door meeting.
The choice of words shocked many, as he has long advocated for LGBTQ+ people to be increasingly involved in church life.
A priest, who declined to be named, told the Times: ‘Pope Francis speaks like this, he is rude in tone. It can be embarrassing and it can become more and more obvious with age.
“The first time, I think it was the Vatican press office that apologized and not him.”
Roberta Vinerba, a Franciscan nun and theologian, said that of the pope The tone was “dry, direct, informal” but had the virtue of clarity, Vinerba said.
‘It is an invitation he extends to everyone – show a serene face, a smiling face, which does not necessarily mean that everything is going well, but that it expresses a hope, a certainty, the hope of being credible witnesses of the redemption that has come. for us,” she said.