Mobile phone critic Pope Francis meets Apple chief Tim Cook
Pope Francis, who has said many times that people should limit their use of mobile phones and give preference to personal communication, gave Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, a private audience on Monday.
Cook, leader of the $2.4 trillion corporation whose iPhone revolutionized personal communication, was on the pope’s daily audience list. As usual, the Vatican has not revealed what was discussed in the private conversation.
The 85-year-old pope has a mixed relation to mobile phones. Last year, he interrupted his general audience when an assistant gave him a cellphone and took an urgent call from a senior Vatican official.
He frequently patiently lets people take selfies with him.
But he also regularly cautioned people against the slavery of cell phones and other forms of technology.
“Get rid of mobile phone dependency,” he told the youth in 2019. “When you become a slave to your mobile phone, you loose your liberty.”
On other occasions, he said it was sad that people were using their mobile phones at the dining table or attending mass.