MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Francis calls on families to talk at meal times and leave aside mobile phones

“We have to get back to communicating in our families,” Francis said in his unscripted remarks

Pope Francis on Sunday urged people to talk to each other at mealtimes instead of using their mobile phones, citing Jesus, Mary and Joseph as an example for families to follow.

They “prayed, worked and communicated with each other”, the pope told the faithful gathered in St Peter's Square during his weekly Angelus address.

“I ask myself if you, in your family, know how to communicate or are you like those kids at meal tables where everyone is chatting on their mobile phone ... where there is silence like at a Mass but they don't communicate,” the pope said.

“We have to get back to communicating in our families,” Francis said in his unscripted remarks. “Fathers, parents, children, grandparents, brothers and sisters, this is a task to undertake today, on the day of the Holy Family.”