Pleasures of food and sex 'simply divine,' says Pope Francis

he pleasures of a well-cooked meal or loving sexual intercourse are "divine" and have unjustly fallen victim to "overzealousness" on the part of the Church in the past, Pope Francis says in a book of interviews published Wednesday.

"Pleasure arrives directly from God, it is neither Catholic, nor Christian, nor anything else, it is simply divine," Francis told Italian writer and gourmet Carlo Petrini.

"The Church has condemned inhuman, brutish, vulgar pleasure; but has on the other hand always accepted human, simple, moral pleasure," he added.

The Argentine-born Francis, 83, said that there was no place for an "overzealous morality" that denies pleasure, something he admitted existed in the Church in the past but insisted is "a wrong interpretation of the Christian message."

At: https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/world/pleasures-of-food-and-sex-simply-divine-says-pope-francis.phtml

Pope Francis shares a meal in Bologna, Italy, earlier this year.

"The pleasure of eating is there to keep you healthy by eating, just like sexual pleasure is there to make love more beautiful and guarantee the perpetuation of the species," the pope said.