Pope Francis has been a lifelong bachelor — but that isn’t stopping him from dishing out marriage advice.
On Sunday, the 85-year-old pontiff told a crowd of worshippers at The Vatican that the three key words for every successful marriage are “please,” “sorry” and “thank you.”
Francis has spent decades counseling Catholic husbands and wives and claimed the words were crucial to ending arguments and maintaining mutual love and respect.
“How many times, unfortunately, conflicts originate within the domestic walls due to prolonged periods of silence and from unchecked selfishness,” he stated during his address, according to the Associated Press.
“Sometimes it even ends up in physical and moral violence. This lacerates harmony and kills the family.”
Francis urged couples who are on the verge of calling it quits to reconsider, saying: “Forgiveness heals every wound.”
“The breakdown of a marriage causes immense suffering, since many hopes are dashed, and misunderstandings can lead to arguments and hurts not easily healed,” he stated. “Children end up having to suffer the pain of seeing their parents no longer together.”
The pontiff told crowds that he understood the ongoing pandemic and lockdowns had put added pressure on relationships, saying: “Pre-existing problems were aggravated, creating conflicts that in some cases became almost unbearable.”
However, he stated that families were essential to a person’s spiritual and cultural identity.
“Maybe we aren’t born into an exceptional, problem-free family, but our family is our story — everyone has to think: ‘It’s my story.’ They are our roots: If we cut them, life dries up!”
Looking ahead to the New Year, the Pope proclaimed that families should focus on connecting more deeply with one another, in spite of the distractions of the modern world.
“It’s sad to see a family at lunch, each one with his or her own cell phone not speaking to one another, everyone talking to the mobile phone,” he stated.
It comes after the Pope hit headlines for decrying Italy’s falling birth rates.
“The demographic winter is a real worry, at least here in Italy,” he said over the weekend.
“It seems that a lot of people have lost the wish to have children. Lots of couples prefer to remain childless or to have one child only,” he added. “It’s a tragedy … which runs counter to our families, our country and our future.”
In 2020, Italy saw 404,892 births — down 15,192 from 2019, according to the national statistics office. That represented Italy’s lowest level since the country was formed in 1861, and the 12th straight year the birth rate has fallen.