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Pope Francis to youth: Food and mobile phones don’t go down well

By DAVID KWALIMWA February 22nd, 2017 1 min read

Pope Francis has urged the youth to get off their phones during family meals, warning the “death” of face-to-face conversations is having dire conversations to the society, and even resulting to wars.

“When we’re at the table, when we are speaking to others on our telephones, it’s the start of war because there is no dialogue,” the pope said during an improvised speech at the “Roma Tre” public university.

The leader of the Catholic Church’s comments come at a time when the mobile phone is fast becoming the most influential gadget in the daily lives of many, with contrasting consequences.

SPEAK LESS, LISTEN MORE

In Nairobi for example, many have been spotted talking on the phone, sending/receiving messages, and surfing the internet not only during meals, but also while crossing the streets, driving, during meetings and even reportedly in bedrooms during intimate moments.

At the same time, the 80 year old pontiff also chastised the youth for their manners, accusing them of swapping a cheery “good morning” greetings, for the anonymous “ciao ciao”, saying it appeared standard in today’s society for people to insult strangers.

Said the Pope: “We need to lower the tone a bit, speak less and listen more, dialogue which brings hearts closer together is a medicine against violence.”