(CNN) -
Pope Francis once again condemned gossip, describing it as a "plague worse than COVID," during his Sunday prayers.
The pontiff also said that the devil is a gossip who wants to divide the Catholic Church.
"Gossip closes the heart of the community, closes the unity of the Church," he said.
"The greatest conversationalist is the devil, who is always saying bad things about others, because he is the liar who tries to disunite the Church, to alienate his brothers and not to form a community."
Please, brothers and sisters, let's make an effort not to gossip.
Gossip is a worse plague than covid, "he added.
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It is not the first time that Francis has made such strong comments about gossip: in 2016, he warned priests and nuns not to fuel "gossip terrorism," encouraging them to resist the temptation to spread voices and stories within their community.
"If you feel the need to say something against a brother or sister, to launch a gossip bomb, bite your tongue!
Lasted!"
said.
He returned to the topic in November 2018, telling pilgrims in St. Peter's Square that gossip kills "because the tongue kills, like a knife," according to a statement released at the time by Vatican News, the official website of the Vatican. press of the holy see.
The pandemic radically changed the way the Vatican operates, forcing the pope to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass in an empty church.
After months of restrictions, the faithful returned to St. Peter's Square in Vatican City in late May.
Francisco held his first public hearing since the pandemic began on Wednesday and used the event to call for solidarity in the fight against covid-19.