Pope Francis criticizes people who refuse to wear masks

"Not that he knows anything about health..."

Pope Francis has harshly criticized people who refuse to wear masks or who protest against coronavirus restrictions saying they move in "their own little world of interests."

Francis, who has himself been criticized for not wearing a mask in public, made the comments in his new book, 'Let Us Dream: A Path to a Better Future,' published Monday.

He wrote:

"Some groups protested, refusing to keep their distance, marching against travel restrictions - as if measures that governments must impose for the good of their people constitute some kind of political assault on autonomy or personal freedom!"

"You'll never find such people protesting the death of George Floyd or joining a demonstration because there are shantytowns where children lack water or education or because there are whole families who have lost their income."

"You won't find them protesting that the astonishing amounts spent on the arms trade could be used to feed the whole of the human race and school every child."

"On such matters they would never protest; they are incapable of moving outside of their own little world of interests."

While the Pope praised the reaction of many governments in tackling Covid-19, he criticized those governments who ignored the severity of the pandemic.

"Some governments have shrugged off the painful evidence of mounting deaths with inevitable, grievous consequences," he wrote.

Francis also warned that lockdown and social distancing has created "digital overexposure" and opportunities for on-line abuse.

"Social distancing has made some more vulnerable to online grooming and other kinds of abuse that as a community we should be watching out for and reporting" he writes.

The book is a wide-ranging reflection on his vision of a post-coronavirus world and was written together with papal biographer Austen Ivereigh during the summer of 2020.