Pope Has Told Alessandro Gisotti Why He Withdrew Hand Repeatedly From the Line Trying to Kiss His Ring

«It was a simple question of hygiene…»
This was explained by Alessandro Gisotto, Director of the Holy See Press Office, who after receiving an avalanche of inquiries about the Pope withdrawing his hand repeatedly from a long queue of individuals who bowed and tried to kiss the ring on Monday, May 25, in the Italian town of Loreto on the Adriatic Sea, decided to ask the Pontiff himself his reasoning behind it.
Preventing the spread of germs, Pope Francis clarified to Gisotti, especially when there are so many people, arriving one right after the other, is the Pontiff’s goal. He noted how the Pope normally allows the kissing of the ring when we are speaking about single individuals or smaller groups.
Alessandro Gisotti added: “He likes to embrace people and be embraced by people.”
Vatican observers have noted that neither Francis’ predecessor Benedict or John Paul II, were not overly enthusiastic either about the kissing of the ring.
This explanation was what the Vatican spokesman used to lead into his briefing on the Pope’s imminent visit to Morocco, where Gisotti noted the first day will be focused on interreligious dialogue and the second to the local Catholic community, which makes up less than .1 percent of the population. He noted the Pope’s homily and Mass will be in Spanish.
The Vatican on February 26, 2019, released the updated program below for the Holy Father’s March 30-31, 2019 apostolic journey to Morocco.
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