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Topics: Pope Francis, Sex and Relationships
Simon Catling
Pope Francis has urged mothers to stop ironing their son's shirts and encourage them to get married.
The 85-year-old head of the Catholic church was taking part in a service to mark the end of the 10th World Meeting of Families when he made the slightly odd suggestion.
The Pope, of course, has never been married himself and doesn't have any children, but that didn't stop him throwing the suggestion out there to see how it landed.
He also told adult men not to 'take the easy road' and return to their mothers in 'moments of difficulty'.
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Speaking at the service, The Pope said: "We see so many young men who don't have the courage to get married and mothers often say to me 'do something, speak to my son, who is not getting married and is 37 years old.'
"But Signora, don't iron his shirts, make the first move by sending him out, let him leave the nest."
The Pope's clearly not tried to tackle the renting market recently.
At the service, which was held at the Vatican in Rome over the weekend, he added that familial love 'is not possessive, it's for freedom always'.
He added: "And then, in the moments of difficulty, in crises – all families have them – please don't take the easy road: 'I'm going back to mum.'
"No, move ahead with this courageous gamble.
"There will be difficult moments, hard moments, but move ahead, always."
So there you have it, lads. If you're in the fortunate position that you have a strong family support network don't even think about using it, just keep it all bottled up there. Sound advice.
The Pope also recently called for couples not to have sex before marriage.
A new 97-page document titled ‘Catechumenal Itineraries for Married Life’ was released last week by the Holy See, the jurisdiction of the Pope, during which it addressed the rising number of null or failed marriages.
“Marriage failures bring with them great suffering and leave deep wounds in people," it read.
“They become disillusioned, bitter and, in the most painful cases, even end up no longer believing in the vocation to love, inscribed by God Himself in the heart of the human being.”
It continues: “It is worth helping young spouses to be able to find the time to deepen their friendship and to accept God’s grace.
“Premarital chastity certainly favours this course.”
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