VATICAN CITY: In a documentary that was made public on Wednesday, Pope Francis praised the joys of sex, calling it "one of the beautiful things that God has given to the human being."
The 86-year-old pope made the remark in the Disney film "The Pope Answers," which documents a meeting he had with 10 people in their early 20s last year in Rome.
They grilled Francis on a range of subjects, including sex, sexual misconduct in the Catholic Church, the porn business, LGBT rights, and abortion.
"Sex is one of the beautiful things that God has given to the human person," Pope Francis said in the documentary.
"Sexual expression is a wonderful way to express yourself. Hence, everything that takes away from authentic sexual expression makes you less than this richness, "He mentioned masturbation in his statement.
Francis also responded in the positive when asked if he understood what a "non-binary person" is. He emphasised once more the need for the Catholic Church to embrace LGBT individuals.
"Each and every person is a child of God. God is a father and does not reject anyone. And I don't have the authority to kick somebody out of the Church "explained he.
On abortion, Pope Francis said priests should be "merciful" towards women who have terminated a pregnancy, but said the practice remains unacceptable. "It good to call things by their name. It is one thing to accompany the person who had one (abortion), quite another to justify the act," Pope said.
The Vatican's official newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, covered the pope's comments and called his discussion with the youth a "open and real debate."