Pope is anti granny

And why did he pick 'grandmother' as the analogy and not 'grandfather'?

Well that's rich coming from a dried up old prune of a Pontiff.

You work there! Duh!!! Sorry

hildajenniJ "Three hours in Waitrose vacuuming!" You are definitely not lacking in vitality!

I am very disappointed in what the Roman Pontiff has chosen to say. I may or may not be infertile - haven't tested that out lately , but certainly consider myself vibrant. Yet again we have been defined by our reproductive arc.

Now might be the right time to share this:
Research into males and dancing (by Dr Peter Lovatt, University of Hertfordshire) produced the conclusion (among others) that males between 35 - 60 make complex dance moves with limited coordination ('dad-dancing'). The conclusion the researchers came to is that what they are unwittingly saying to younger women is 'stay away, I'm not fertile'.

As Dr Lovatt said: "It's like an apple that is going brown – you want a fresh green one instead."

Come on, public figures and role-models, use a bit more imagination when writing your speeches and cut the gender bias. We all change as we grow older, and not necessarily for the worse.

Infertile? Hopefully by now! But Haggard and lacking in vitality. I look after my 1 year old (very lively) grandson to make it worthwhile for his parents to go to work, and you need a lot of vitality for that. It shows that in spite of his attempts to show himself as a modern pope, he still lives in the past where women only show their worth by having babies. Disgusting.

Good point, gagagran. That's what I thought too.

gillybob ! You are a mere whipper-snapper of a girl.Sounds young to me.

No! Don't put it to the test! #deso'conner

At 52, I wouldn't describe myself as young jingl and riverwalk but I am still quite fertile (if you know what I mean) wouldn't want to put it to the test though.

As for DH being even younger, thats a laugh. He's 11 years older !

Who's lacking in vitality? I've just spent the morning baking loads of biscuits and making the lunch. All this after spending three hours in Waitrose vacuuming, dusting, cleaning loos and mopping floors. This afternoon the dog needs a walk. Has the Pope ever met a Grandmother I wonder?

I wonder if Hillary Clinton, now a granny, has heard of this analogy!

Sad because he has always come across as a pope of our times. Shame that a good speech contained such a crass analogy. Hope he gets a heavenly rebuke from St Anne, mother of Mary and hence grandmother of Jesus. Otherwise known as "Holy Annie God's Granny" to the less devout

Perhaps I'm getting to like him more now. (only joking)

I think popes (not just this one) can come across as being anti-women. Or, at the very least, consider women as less important beings.

Excuse me your popeship, I am not (very) haggard, I have quite a lot of vitality, I can run (quite fast actually) for the bus, run upstairs etc although at 65 I may qualify for being infertile.

Who are the ones usually sitting by the fire, reading the newspaper etc while the women shop, cook, clean etc? It's not usually the grandmothers![tongue in cheek]
Ducks behind parapet.

gilly's young - her DH is even younger

Gillybob Good luck with that!

#legscrossedforgodssake

I was surprised to hear him referring to grandmothers in that way and consider him to be ill advised in this modern age.
If Europe is so tired and haggard and wihout vitality then why are so many from Africa ( so vibrant and young) wanting to come here and join us together with people from all the other young democracies.

The ones in Germany love it because it is clean, there is food and warmth, and NO BOMBS. Thats what Europe is about. He as a South American who didn't have 2 world wars on his doorstep is not the one to criticise.

As gagagran says he could be describing the Vatican. Let him sort that out first.

The thing that struck DH and me about his speech is that it could easily be describing the Vatican and the Catholic Church. Hypocrisy?

Good post!

Protest all you like, but there are stages of development for all organisms, countries, democracies and lives, we cannot change that
You might not like the analogy but we are all ageing, losing vibrancy and fertility. We can't stem the tide for our own mortality but maybe policy makers and revolutionaries can change the fortunes of countries

Well pardon me Mr Pope but I am not infertile . Silly old buffoon !

Sometimes he strikes me as being a bit unfair. Most governments in europe are trying hard for the benefit of all their citizens.

Some good remarks about the family. And education.