Over the weekend, the always unpredictable Pope Francis issued the strongest defense of traditional marriage he has issued during his papacy, calling all changes to it a "bastardized" version of the sacrament and ultimately "destructive" to the family in general.

Speaking before an audience from the international Marian movement, the Pontiff lamented that marriage has been redefined, and not in a good way.

"What is being proposed is not marriage, it's an association. But it's not marriage," exclaimed Francis. "It's necessary to say these things very clearly and we have to say it!"

Pope Francis also warned against the current societal trend to "call everything family."

"The family is being hit, the family is being struck and the family is being bastardized," the Pope continued. "So many families are divided, so many marriages broken, (there is) such relativism in the concept of the Sacrament of Marriage."

While not explicitly condemning same-sex marriage outright, Pope Francis did decry against "new forms of unions which are totally destructive and limiting the greatness of the love of marriage."

His comments come as a breath of fresh air for many faithful Catholics who have endured weeks of the secular media boldly exclaiming the Catholic Church has changed its views on homosexuality and same-sex marriage. On Monday, Pope Francis also hailed his predecessor, the supposedly "more conservative" Pope Benedict XVI, as a "great pope."