Pope Francis Stresses Importance of Phone-Free Family Dinners

Pope Francis says to put the phone down and bond with your family at dinner to avoid starting a “war.”

Pope Francis is an avid promoter of upholding family values. In 2015, during one of his speeches at the St. Peter’s Square, he urged families to communicate with each other at the dinner table. Last year, he told the teenagers gathered in St Peter’s Square for the Vatican’s celebration of youth that happiness was not an app they could download on their phones. Last Friday, while addressing a crowd of young people at the Roma Tre public university, the Pope stressed the importance of families having meaningful conversations at the dinner table.[/tweetit] He said a family whose members completely ignore each other at the dinner table and immerse themselves in texting or talking to someone on their mobile phones is not much of a family. He also said since there is no dialogue, it can lead to the start of war.

Pope Francis Stresses Importance of Phone-Free Family Dinners[/tweetthis]

The Pope also said it has become standard for young people in the modern society to insult people. Manners have become a thing of the past. There was a time when people greeted each other with cheery “good mornings,” not now, now all you get is an anonymous “ciao ciao.”

The 80-year-old Pope Francis is by no means someone who hates new technology, in fact, he himself has social media accounts with millions of followers. He would happily pose with you for selfies. What Pope Francis doesn't approve is the addiction to modern technologies and devices that are making the young people distance themselves from traditional family values, basic manners, and meaningful human interactions.

The Pope called on the young people to do away with the selfish silence at the dinner table and restore heartfelt family interactions, to speak and listen to each other. He said only meaningful dialogues can bring hearts together and that it is the best antidote to violence.

On a separate note, while visiting a Roman parish, a child asked Pope Francis how he became the Pope. He said the cardinals consider the strong points of different candidates, pray, and then choose the one that they believe is suitable to lead the Church. He asked the children gathered in the parish who they thought was the most intelligent cardinal among the 2013 Pope candidates. All the children shouted "you."

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