“Gossiping worse plague than COVID-19”: Pope Francis
Pope Francis has urged worshippers to make an effort to stop gossip.
Speaking during his weekly address from a window above St Peter’s Square at the Vatican, he urged people to “never gossip”.
The Pope said “gossiping is a worse plague” than the coronavirus, claiming it can be used to divide the Roman Catholic Church.
Francis continued: “The devil is the great gossip. He is always saying bad things about others because he is the liar who tries to split the Church.”
In the unscripted comments, the 83-year-old added: “If something goes wrong, offer silence and prayer for the brother or sister who make a mistake, but never gossip.”
After more than two months of lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, worshippers were allowed to return to St Peter’s Square in May under strict social distancing rules.
Last week, Pope Francis held his first weekly public audience in six months, as the Vatican tries to make a return to some normality.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, Italy has been one of the worst-hit European countries, with more than 277,000 confirmed cases and more than 35,500 deaths of people who have tested positive, according to Johns Hopkins University.
