Is not the most serious sin?
Sexual activity outside of marriage, according to Pope Francis, is “not the most serious sin.”
Is not the most serious sin
On a trip back to Italy from Greece on Monday, the 84-year-old pope remarked this during a question-and-answer session with reporters.
“Fleshly sins are not the most severe,” he continued. Pride and hate, he said, are “the most serious.”
In answer to a query concerning Archbishop of Paris Michel Aupetit’s “ambiguous” relationship with a woman, Francis made the comment.
Although Aupetit, 70, denied the relationship was sexual, he resigned to safeguard the Church’s reputation.
The Pope was also questioned about Archbishop of Paris Michel Aupetit’s resignation, which he gave earlier this month after a French magazine reported he had had an intimate connection with a woman.
Archbishops and higher-ranking members of the Catholic Church have traditionally practiced clerical celibacy, which implies they abstain from sexual activity.
“I inadequately managed the matter with a person who came in contact with me many times,” the Archbishop stated, denying the affair.
“It was a failing on his side, a failing against the sixth commandment, but not a total one,” the Pope stated after accepting the Archbishop’s resignation.
“You must not commit adultery,” according to the sixth commandment, which relates to persons who have sex outside of their marriages, but the Pope hinted it may also apply to priests who do not remain celibate.
During the trip, the Pope stated that the Archbishop was dismissed owing to “gossip.”
“We’re all sinners,” he says. He can’t rule if the rumor develops and expands, destroying someone’s good name,” he remarked.
“This is a travesty. That is why I accepted Aupetit’s resignation: not on the altar of truth, but on the altar of hypocrisy.
During his visit to Greece, Pope Francis urged young people not to be seduced by today’s consumerist “sirens.” “Today’s sirens aim to seduce you with seductive and persistent messages that focus on quick profits, the illusory wants of materialism, the cult of physical fitness, and amusement at any cost,” he stated. “All of them are like fireworks: they burst into flames for a brief while before dissipating as smoke in the air.”
