Pope Francis Says Sex Outside Marriage Is 'Not Most Serious' Sin

The head of the Catholic Church indicated that people should be more concerned about other transgressions while speaking to reporters on a flight back to Italy from Greece on Monday (6 December).

The 84-year-old said: "Sins of the flesh are not the most serious."

Ah, well that's a load off our collective minds.

Instead, the Pope said that hatred and pride are the most serious sins.

So if you indulge in some gold old-fashioned fleshy sins, expect a slap on the wrist - just don't go being all proud about it, alright?

The Pope used his five-day trip to Greece and Cyprus to encourage young people to follow their dreams and not be tempted by the consumerist 'sirens' of today that promise easy pleasures.

At Saint Dionysius School of the Ursuline Sisters, in Athens, Francis cited Homer’s Odyssey and the temptation posed by the sirens, who 'by their songs enchanted sailors and made them crash against the rocks'.

He said: "Today’s sirens want to charm you with seductive and insistent messages that focus on easy gains, the false needs of consumerism, the cult of physical wellness, of entertainment at all costs.

"All these are like fireworks: they flare up for a moment, but then turn to smoke in the air."

Francis - who also denounced Europe's treatment of migrants during his trip - continued: "The meaning of life is not found by staying on the beach waiting for the wind to bring something new.

"Salvation lies in the open sea, in setting sail, in the quest, in the pursuit of dreams, real dreams, those we pursue with eyes open, those that involve effort, struggles, headwinds, sudden storms.

"So don’t be paralysed by fear - dream big! And dream together!"

Francis is returning to the Vatican with some important pre-Christmas events on his agenda: a meeting with the members of a French commission that investigated sexual abuse in the French Catholic Church, a meeting with Canadian indigenous peoples seeking a papal apology for abuses at Catholic-run residential schools, and his 85th birthday on 17 December.