Pope Francis has said sex outside of marriage is not the "most serious" sin, the Independent reports.
The leader of the Catholic Church was speaking with reporters on a flight from Italy to Greece on Monday, December 6, when he made the groundbreaking remarks.
The Pope told the reporters: "Sins of the flesh are not the most serious."
The 84-year-old, who has held the position of Pope and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 2013, went on to say that pride and hatred are "the most serious" of sins, according to the paper.
The question and answer session comes after the Archbishop of Paris, Michel Aupetit, stepped down from his role earlier this month after a French publication claimed he had entered into an illicit relationship with a woman.
Archbishops and senior members of the Catholic Church are supposed to partake in clerical celibacy, meaning they cannot have sex.
The Archbishop, however, denied reports of a sexual relationship, saying: "I poorly handled the situation with a person who was in contact many times with me."
The Pope, who accepted Aupetit's decision to step down, said: "It was a failing on his part, a failing against the sixth commandment, but not a total one."
The sixth commandment states "you shall not commit adultery", which typically refers to those engaging in extramarital affairs, but the Pope also suggested it could apply to senior Catholic church leaders who don't adhere to clerical celibacy.
The Pope told the reporters that the Archbishop's resignation came about due to the "gossip" about his alleged affair.
"We're all sinners. When the gossip grows and grows and removes someone’s good name, he cannot govern," he said. "This is an injustice. That’s why I accepted the resignation of Aupetit: not on the altar of truth but on the altar of hypocrisy."
As part of his visit to Greece, the Pope urged young people to resist temptation by the various consumerist "sirens".
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."
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