Pope's 3 key words for a marriage: 'Please, thanks, sorry'

Pope Francis is seeking to encourage married couples

ROME -- Pope Francis sought Sunday to encourage married couples, acknowledging that the pandemic has aggravated some family problems but urging couples to seek help and always remember three key words in a marriage: “Please, thanks and sorry.”

Francis penned a letter to married couples that was released Sunday, a Catholic feast day commemorating Jesus’ family. It came halfway through a yearlong celebration of the family announced by Francis that is due to conclude in June with a big family rally in Rome.

Speaking at his studio window Sunday, Francis said he intended the letter to be his “Christmas present to married couples." He urged them to keep having children to fight the “demographic winter" which, in Italy, has led to one of the lowest birthrates in the world.

“Maybe we aren't born into an exceptional, problem-free family, but our family is our story — everyone has to think: It’s my story,” he said. “They are our roots: If we cut them, life dries up!"