Pope Francis seemingly put his own spin on telling women to 'smile more,' urging nuns to abandon "vinegar faces," and stop speaking with the devil.
The Pope, 88, emphasized the importance of friendliness and love in embodying the virtues of the Catholic Church as he spoke to a group of Dominican sisters visiting the Vatican Sunday, The Times reported.
"Sometimes in my life, I have met nuns with a vinegar face, and that's not friendly," the Pope remarked. "That's not something that helps to attract people. Vinegar is nasty, and nuns with a vinegar face—let's not even talk about it."
The Pope also urged the nuns to follow Jesus' example of speaking to everyone—except the Devil. "No dialogue with the Devil, understood?" he stressed, warning against allowing jealousy and other human frailties to provide entry points for evil.
Among human frailties, the Pope addressed gossip as a substantial hurdle for women.
"Please, distance yourself from gossip," he urged. "To ask this of a woman is heroic but, come on, let's move forward and no gossip." He called on the sisters to instead be "heralds of affability."
In a lighter moment, Francis commented on the lack of young novices in the group, expressing concern about the dwindling numbers of women joining religious life.
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