Pope Francis quipped that he feels "rather like a mother-in-law" when called upon to give guidance.
"I feel rather like a 'mother-in-law' giving advice on what should be done," he told the Asia Times on Tuesday in his first-ever interview on China and the Chinese people to mark the Chinese New Year.
Asked what advice he had for families in the world's second largest economy, where work pressures can separate parents from their children, he said: "I would suggest a healthy realism.
"First, I must be reconciled with reality. I don’t like it, I am against it, it makes me suffer, but if I don’t come to terms with it, I won’t be able to do anything. The second step is to work to improve reality and to change its direction," he said.
He also also sent Chinese New Year’s greetings to the Chinese people and President Xi Jinping, the first extended by a pope to a Chinese leader for the lunar new year in 2,000 years.
