Pope hangs sign warning whiners to stay away from new office

Pope Francis, a regular denouncer of gossip and intrigue inside the Vatican, has hung a sign outside his private study warning whiners to stay away.

“No complaining. Offenders are subjected to a syndrome of victimhood that lowers the mood and the ability to solve problems,’’ the sign said.

A picture of it was published by the La Stampa newspaper on Friday.

“Fines are doubled if the offence is committed in the presence of children.

“To get the best out of yourself, you must focus on your own potential and not on your own limits, so stop complaining and act to change your life for the better,’’ it also said.

The sign was donated to the pope by a Sicilian psychologist and motivational speaker, Salvo Noe, during one of the pontiff’s weekly audiences in St Peter’s Square.

“When the pope saw the sign, he lit up immediately.

“He read all of it and then turned around to his aides and said, ‘I want to put this sign outside by office,” the psychologist added.

The pope’s new office sign came after a troubled few weeks during which German Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, a leading critic of the pope who was the Vatican’s doctrine chief, was dismissed from his post.

Australian Cardinal George Pell, Vatican finance chief, also took leave to face a sex abuse trial in his home country.